What is the main idea of the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock?


What is the main idea of the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock?

One of the poem's central themes is social anxiety and how it affects Prufrock's ability to interact with those around him. This line, like the others in the tea scene, is indicative of the discomfort Prufrock feels in social situations and his belief that he needs to put on a "face" or mask in order to fit in.

What is the love story of J Alfred Prufrock about?

Alfred Prufrock” is a dramatic narrative poem by T. S Eliot, first written between 1910-1911 and was published in June 1915 and again in 1917. The poem reflects the thoughts of a person searching for love in an uncertain world. Despite knowing what to say and how to express his love, he is hesitant.

What is Prufrock's overwhelming question?

Scholars and critics alike agree that the "overwhelming question" that is the focus of all of Prufrock's ponderings in the poem is most likely a marriage proposal, or a question of a woman's feelings for him.

What is Prufrock's main dilemma in the poem?

Although many critics are divided on what the actual main dilemma in the poem is, generally it is accepted that the correct answer would be B. he is unable to approach a woman to answer an important question. He wants to ask a beautiful woman to marry him, because he loves her.

What is Prufrock afraid of?

Prufrock is afraid of death, rejection, judgment, and growing old alone.

What is Prufrock's problem?

Prufrock's main concern is that he is frittering his life away with meaningless activities while longing to do better things. He worries about the contrast between the sordid everyday world he inhabits and the world of imagination--of mermaids riding on the foam--that his heart yearns for.

Why is Prufrock afraid to eat a peach?

Alfred Prufrock is afraid to eat a peach because he is afraid of ridicule and afraid of women, or at least of their judgment and rejection. Daring to eat a messy peach is symbolic of everything Prufrock is afraid to do for fear of what other people might think.

Does Prufrock die?

Prufrock even metaphorically dies at the end of the poem, corresponding to the idea of not returning alive from The Inferno; Prufrock's elaborate, day-dreamed world dies when someone interrupts him at the end of the poem and he drowns.

What kind of person is Prufrock?

Alfred Prufrock is a lonely, middle-aged man who moves through a modern, urban environment in a state of confusion and isolation.

What is the yellow smoke in Prufrock?

The yellow smoke or fog in “Prufrock” is a product of the modern city, but it also is a symbol that reflects Prufrock's tenuous and marginal place within the city.

How does Prufrock describe himself?

Alfred Prufrock," Prufrock feels unconfident and self-conscious He is lonely, aging, and balding, and his apparent desire to connect with others, especially women, remains unrealized.

What Prufrock means?

McCoy and Harlan wrote "For many readers in the 1920s, Prufrock seemed to epitomize the frustration and impotence of the modern individual. He seemed to represent thwarted desires and modern disillusionment." In general, Eliot uses imagery which is indicative of Prufrock's character, representing aging and decay.

Who is the eternal Footman?

Death is sometimes referred to as "the eternal footman." Here Prufrock is alluding to his own fears about mortality.

How are Prufrock and Hamlet similar?

Prufrock compares himself to Hamlet, and then dismisses his importance ("No! ... However, Prufrock's comparison to Hamlet contains more than a hint of irony because he does resemble the Danish Prince. Similar to Prince Hamlet, Prufrock's greatest flaw is his failure to act and his death at the end of the work.

What items does Prufrock measure?

When Prufrock says he has measured his life in coffee spoons, he is alluding that he has spent a lot of time participating in social coffee or tea. If his life can be measured in coffee spoons, then he has done little else to provide a unit of measure; he has spent much of his time simply being social.

What does Prufrock mean when he says I have measured out my life with coffee spoons?

When Prufrock says, in the poem's seventh stanza, "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons," what he means is that his life has always been carefully controlled and predictable—in other words, measured. The image of the coffee spoon is one of middle-class domesticity.

What color is the fog that Prufrock sees?

Prufrock refers to “yellow fog” and “yellow smoke,” which ties back to his own mind: clouded. He cannot act and is paralyzed, blocked by his own thoughts. The color yellow, often associated with cowardice, just supplements this idea.

What does the epigraph mean in Prufrock?

The epigraph in “Prufrock” is a quotation from Dante's Inferno in which Guido da Montefeltro, who is being tortured, says he feels safe revealing the truth of his horrible deeds to Dante because he believes that Dante will never make it out of hell to tell the rest of the world.

What is the significance of the name J Alfred Prufrock?

Alfred Prufrock" is a farcical name, and Eliot wanted the subliminal connotation of a "prude" in a "frock." (The original title was "Prufrock Among the Women.") This emasculation contributes to a number of themes Eliot will explore revolving around paralysis and heroism, but the name also has personal meaning for Eliot ...

How is Prufrock connected to Lazarus?

Prufrock compares himself to Lazarus in line 94, as part of an imaginary conversation with a woman he cannot adequately communicate his thoughts to. ... Lazarus returns from death to tell of his experiences just like Prufrock sees himself coming out of his far away thoughts to tell of his imaginings.

Why is the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock modernism?

T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock carries the characteristics of modernist poetry such as objective correlative, fragmentation, free verse and irregular rhyming. ... Hence, the title of the poem is ironic since Prufrock never talks about his feelings of love throughout the poem.

What is the setting of the poem The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock?

The setting of the poem is in the evening in a bleak section of a smoky city. This city is probably St. Louis, where Eliot grew up or also could be London, to which Eliot moved in 1914. However, Eliot probably intended the setting to be any city anywhere.

What is death's other kingdom?

It is described as death's other kingdom or death's dream kingdom, meaning that there is `another´ world of death apart from the beyond itself, or that it is possible to `dream´ even when you're dead.

What common modernist theme is found in Eliot's The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock?

Alfred Prufrock” is considered modernist poem. The theme presented in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” revolves around the idea that social or sexual situations can make a person “paralyzed” with anxiety. This theme is expressed in the poem through the social interactions, or lack thereof, of Prufrock.

What does Prufrock mean in the last line?

What does Prufrock mean in the last line: "I do not think they will sing to me"? He does not think women find him attractive. Read the excerpt from Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare.

Why does Prufrock feel enslaved in the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock?

Why does Prufrock feel enslaved in The Love Song of J. ... In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock he is trying to get the courage to declare his love to a woman.

How is J Alfred Prufrock a modern man?

Prufrock is overeducated, fearful, timid, overly sensitive, and graceful. He continuously ponders lost opportunities and unanswered questions. This is the modern man, not strong and silent but weak and accessible. He represents the modern man by openly displaying disappointment and vulnerability.

What are three questions Prufrock asks himself?

These include "Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?" and "Is it perfume from a dress that makes me so digress?" These questions serve mainly to enhance the characterization of Prufrock as an insecure man who doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin.

What mythical beings appear in the last stanza of The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock?

The mermaids represent the world of the imagination, which is a contrast to the sordid world of London described in the early lines of the poem, as well as to the dull party (like countless others) that Prufrock is attending.

What types of images does the speaker return to throughout the Lovesong of J Alfred?

The correct answer is option C. Throughout "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" the speaker returns to images of various literary and historical figures.