The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock - Close Reading - Essay Example

One comes across dramatic monologues in passionate love songs as the poem appears to be at the start. By using this dramatic monologue the protagonist seems to be trying to strike a rapport with the listeners. The other thing is that this usage of the dramatic monologue in the poem allows the poet to draw the psychologically complex characters of Prufrock.

At the beginning of the poem is placed an epigraph taken from Dante’s Inferno. The poet uses this epigraph to bring in a deeper understanding of the poem through the usage of context and meaning. Dante here represents the converse of what Prufrock has come to be. Unlike Dante, Prufrock repeatedly fails to be a person who has genuine passion and emotions. In contrast, the emotional and mental state of Prufrock is very much like Guido de Montefetltro on his way to the flames. Hence, very much like Guido, Prufrock here comes out as being a very isolated and wasted individual. In the poem, TS Eliot has resorted to an irregular rhyme scheme, without being utterly random.

Though in parts the poem appears to be in free verse, actually speaking the poem happens to be a combination of many types of poetic forms. Besides, in this poem, Eliot also resorted to the use of refrains like,” In the room, the women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo (13-14).” This refrain is also accompanied by repeated questions asked and doubts conveyed by Prufrock. Eliot uses this poetic style in the poem to convey the disturbed mental state of a neurotic character who is Prufrock. This fragmented and discontinued poetic style allows the poet to reveal the fact that although Prufrock presents himself as being aesthetic, actually speaking he is non-romantic. The state of Prufrock represents the state of emotional bonds in modern times.

Time and again in the poem Prufrock conveys his dissatisfaction with the environment amidst which he is moving. These references do construct an environment that is utterly depressing and unwholesome. The use of the lines such as “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes” and “restless nights in one-night cheap hotels” is indicative of the shallow and cheap morality of Prufrock. The Prufrock in the poem emerges to be emotionally disturbed and undecided, totally unlike what the reader expected a lover to be. Perhaps it is because of this dismal condition of his emotional state that Prufrock tries to strike a relationship with the reader as he says “Let us go then, you and I.”
Many times the poem seems to be having a humorous tone, which is also bitter and hopeless in a unique way.

For instance the line “Shall I part my hair behind” on the one side comes out as being funny, on the other side conveys the insecurities of a lover who is totally without passion and confidence. This feeling of discomfort and lack of confidence faced by Prufrock gains strength towards the end of the poem when he refers to many age-related uncertainties faced him like the bald spot on his head. Hence, in the poem, the lover that the poet is trying to present is contrary to the passionate lovers of the past referred to by Prufrock as “No! I am not Prince Hamlet.” Hence, the poet has managed to create a hero who is aging, alone, and psychologically disturbed. This is a hero who is uncomfortable with the idea of having a relationship with the women moving around him.

Thereby, the poet has managed to create an idea of dispassionate and wasted love through Prufrock, an idea with which many modern men could identify and relate to. Read More