Wednesday, October 13, 2010
T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," mainly deals with a man's insecurities in modern society and his struggle to fit in. As the poem reaches an end, the man is exhausted and overwhelmed with his anxiety and internal conflicts, "At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--Almost, at times, the Fool." This reveals the man's constant and uneasy feelings of anxiety and insecurity. T.S. Eliot's usage of the "--" impacts the reader so that he or she fully understands the man's emotional struggle. His sudden bursts of language demonstrate his hesitant, emotional, and almost apologetic feelings of his failure in society and in his life as a whole. The man's emotions are a direct parallel to those of Hamlets in Act I, Scene ii; "--why she, even she--O God!...married with my uncle..." This part of Hamlet's solliloquy reveals his frustration, confusion, and inibility to process his father's death, in addition to his mother's marriage to Cornelius. In both situations, the outburts of pure emotion show the pain and sorrow that both men are going through. These randomly spread out interjections also interrupt the complex syntax, and serve to demonstrate two men's feeling of either failure, insecurity, or sorrow.
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I agree with you about your point of Prufrock having many struggles and trying to fit in in life, but I am not really sure what you mean when you talk about the "sudden bursts of language". What is really important about this particular quote from Prufrock is his initial POSSIBLE belief in himself about a potential achievements that he MAY have had; but, from thereafter, he continues to doubt himself until the end of the passage where he moves on to calling himself ridiculous and finally a fool. I really like your connection between Hamlet's soliloquy and the Prufrock poem - I completely agree that they are both in a wrecked state, spitting out pure emotion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Lauren, regarding your connection of Prufrock with Hamlet. Whenever Hamlet or the speaker becomes frustrated with himself, they cannot formulate a sentence because their thoughts are jumbled. I believe that both men are feeling failure, insecurity, AND sorrow all at the same time. Great analysis overall.
ReplyDeleteLauren, I agree with you about the Prufock's strggles and about his emotional state. At the point of this line Prufrock is having feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Futhermore, like you said, the dashes in the line illustrates the emotional distress that he is going through. I love how you connected his emotional state to the state of Hamlet in his soliloquy. Both are having problems explaining themselves and both are in wretched states. Overall, I think this was great analysis.
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