Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by Bruce Hayman - Article Example

On Bruce Hayman’s “How Old is Prufrock? Does He Want to Get Married?" The analysis of T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Bruce Hayman in his article entitled "How Old is Prufrock? Does He Want to Get Married?" is a comprehensive explanation and illustration of several aspects of the puzzling yet appealing persona of the equally puzzling and appealing poem. The article starts with a third question: “What difference does it make whether Prufrock is young or middle-aged, or whether he wants to get married or not” (68). Hayman gives five reasons that there is really a “significant difference” such as: 1. Nothing much is known about J. Alfred Prufrock; 2. The way the two questions are answered matters; 3. The poem could be autobiographical if Prufrock is young and if middle-aged why would a young poet be interested in a middle-aged narrator; 4. There are similarities with the poem “Portrait of a Lady” if the narrator is young and less similarities if the narrator is middle-aged; and 5. If Prufrock is young there are thematic similarities with the characters in “The Waste Land” in relation to sexual experience but there will be no similarity if the narrator is middle-aged. The article then proceeds to the question whether Prufrock wants to get married or not. Hayman cites two critics, Elisabeth Schneider and Balachandra Rajan, who both suggest that there is a marriage proposal indeed in the poem and not a one-night fling (60). Hayman’s reasons for a marriage proposal are: 1. The title “Love Song” is intended for a more serious relationship; 2. Prufrock is not presented as a sexually active person; 3. He is a proper, educated and upper-class man; 4. He is more intellectual than physical; 5. He is dealing with a serious question (overwhelming); 6. There is not much mention of sexual pleasure; and 7. Prufrock stands asexual in comparison to another Eliot character, Apeneck Sweeny. On the other hand, Hayman looks into the possibility of a sexual proposition and finds the following evidences: 1. Prufrock does not know the woman pretty well not even her name; 2. Prufrock and the woman have not spent intimate moments together; 3. His depiction of her lounging on the floor is “more seductive than is necessary for a proper marriage proposal” (61); 4. His description is merely on her physical attributes and none on the inner being of the woman; 5. He is sensually aroused in the poem; 6. He has a funny name; and 7. The woman stands for every woman that if he fails to have a sexual encounter with this one, he will remain a virgin for the rest of his life. So in response to the first question, Hayman concludes that it is more of a sexual proposition than a marriage proposal because “Prufrock seems to know so little about the woman or even care about her” and that “she has no name, no distinguishable face, no personality, and no past history” (62). With regards to the second question as to whether Prufrock is a young man or a middle-aged man, Hayman posits the following reasons. Hayman cites the differing views of Eliot’s critics with regards to Prufrock’s age. John Crowe Ransom, A.G. George, Lyndall Gordon, George Williamson, and Grover Smith all agree that Prufrock is a middle-aged man, while Elisabeth Schneider says he is a young man and Stephen Spender says he is of uncertain age. Eliot however revealed later that “Prufrock was partly a forty-year-old man and partly himself” (62). Hayman continues to present evidences to Prufrock’s being a middle-aged man namely: 1. Prufrock refers to himself as aging; 2. He describes himself with middle-aged qualities; 3. He emphasizes on his considerable knowledge; 4. He uses of the present perfect tense; and 5. He refers to himself as the middle-aged Hamlet. On being a young man, Hayman poses the following reasons: 1. Prufrock shows freshness and innocence in his worrying; 2. He has no past to refer to; 3. His mind is focused mainly on the present and the future; 4. His reference to himself as old is phrased in the future tense; 5. He shows immaturity; 6. His claims to knowledge are wildly exaggerated; and 7. He suffers from unbearable self-consciousness. Thus, in response to the second question, Hayman finds Prufrock a young man because he “has no past, that he is innocently and bewilderingly inexperienced, and that he prematurely leaps to the fatalistic conclusion that he will grow old unloved” (68). Reading and re-reading the article of Bruce Hayman is illuminating. As I have presented in the first paragraph, his analysis is comprehensive. He leaves no room for doubt by presenting all aspects of the possible answers to the two questions before presenting his own stand on the issues. While reading every argument, one is led to understand the lines and situations in the poem especially the persona of J. Alfred Prufrock. Hayman also presents his arguments clearly by effectively using the mechanisms of enumeration, parallelism and repetition. His style makes all his arguments substantive. In my own point of view, J. Alfred Prufrock is indeed young and immature because of his obsession with the sexual proposition to the unnamed woman and his dread for growing old and unattractive. I am initially struck at the reason or motive why he should go into that process. My first reaction was: why should he marry or desire the woman with such intensity that it seems to be his sole focus and purpose in life? It appears that he does not behave properly for a normal man because he lacks confidence in himself although he claims that he has enough experience and knowledge. I agree with Hayman that these are manifestations of his youthfulness and uncertainty of the future. Moreover, his lack of inner strength and self-confidence gives us an impression that he is a weak person who tries so hard to impress others and yet represses his true desires and identity. A line that stands out to show his low self-esteem states: “I do not think they will sing to me” (125:2512). Here, he visualizes the mermaids and the mermaids singing to each other and he finds himself out of place. In addition, I agree with Hayman when he says “The focus on the arms has a strangely endearing combination of propriety and sexuality- as though Eliot wanted to write a poem about sexuality but was afraid his mother might read it” (62). I was expecting more from the lines with the yellow fog (15-25:2509) but the imagery shifts to the narrator and leaves the scene hanging that “there will be time” for that. I believe that Hayman has discussed the poem so well that I cannot help but agree with him on every respect. Analyses like this one are very helpful to readers like me who do not have enough experience and knowledge about literary criticism. Thanks to Bruce Hayman for his enlightening article. Works Cited Barnet, Sylvan, et al (Eds). An Introduction to Literature: Fiction/Poetry/Drama. Expanded Edition. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers. 1994. Gillespie, Sheena, et al. World Literature: Connecting Nations and Cultures. 4th Ed. New York: Longman by Pearson Education, Inc. 2005. Hayman, Bruce. “How Old is Prufrock? Does He Want to Get Married?” CLA Journal, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1. September 1994, pp. 59-68. Hurt, James. Literature: A Contemporary Introduction. New York: Macmillan College Publishing. 1994. 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