The Use of Images in T. S Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - Essay Example

The Use of Images in T. S Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ starts with the image of time, much in comparison and contrast with the carpe diem theme of Andrew Marvell that T.S Eliot draws upon consistently in the latter parts of the poem as well. There exist a number of auditory, visual and tactile images in the poem, ranging from colors, animate and inanimate objects and sensory experiences of human togetherness. It can be observed that the images that recur in the poem, even as they refer to the objects related to real-life existence, are rather abstract. And the images are more akin to the metaphysical aspects of life than merely metaphorical ones. It is possible to trace the major patterns of abstract images related to time, inertia, sickness, fear and failure in the poem. When taken as a whole, all these may be seen as the contributive aspects of the unpromising prospects of human relationships. The first three lines of the poem hint at the unique analogies that the poem relies on, through curious images: Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table The “you and I” of the poem remain undefined until the end of the poem, but the psyche of the speaker, “I” is characterized by the image of a “patient etherized upon a table”. The image of sickness and inertia overshadows the whole poem. The “half-deserted streets”, “muttering retreats” and the winding streets hrough which the disintegrated self of the narrator walks leads to “an overwhelming question” which reminds one of Mathew Arnold’s Dover beach, where a similar question, seemingly on love, raises the reader’s expectations momentarily. But the emphasis is shifted to somewhere else, when he mentions like a refrain, In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo The narrator’s indecision regarding the social mingling and the eventual meeting of these women are expressed in the latter part of the poem, though the reason for his indecision and fear are not properly accounted for. It seems that the image of the women and that of their talking about art are just representations of a pretentious life that the narrator is unable to cope with, or rise up to, and these images are presented in a specific order so that they constitute more towards the rationale of the theme than any logical reasoning. Hence it is possible to analyze these images as part of the impressionistic technique that modernist poets followed. The visual image of yellow color combined with the metaphorical feline image makes the following lines the most appealing in the poem. The Yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,… F.R Leavis , after his question “Can this be poetry”, quotes these lines and observes: “And yet there are passages that, for all their oddness of imagery and tone, do not immediately condemn themselves as ‘unpoetical’ even by anthological standards” (Leavis, 66). Even for the contemporary reader who has an overview and clear comprehension of Modernist poetry in retrospection, these lines can be quite intriguing with the curious combination of the visual and tactile images. The recurrent imagery of cats in Eliot’s poetry and the predominance of a sardonically, philosophical verve in them is apt to make the readers of this poem take it as the 29 year old poet’s intellectual and emotional preoccupations with life, romance and disappointments. The repetition of the statement “there will be time” is in stark contrast with the carpe diem theme and a reinstatement of the image of inertia, tethering on impotence. The cynical statement that “there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” shows the reluctance from the part of the narrator to take part in the pantomime, but also the inevitability of having to be a participant in that. When he finally mentions, “And time yet for a hundred indecisions”, the tone of the poem reaches a melancholic, ruminative proposition of procrastination, which he later affirms with the reference, though in deliberate contrast, to Hamlet. Images of physical and mental sickness are ingrained in these lines. References to premature ageing abound in the rest of the poem. It could also be an early realization, or anticipation of the inanity of life, appearances, and physical togetherness. The words, “To turn back and descend the stairs” are an image that is inextricably linked to the process of ageing. The repetition of the lines about availability of time and the question “’Do I dare?’” takes the idea of incapability further, and juxtaposes it with what others perceive in the narrator. The paradoxical element of self-esteem amidst the haunting thoughts of inability is reflected in the way “They” say “’How his hair is growing thin!’” and “’But how his arms and legs are thin!’”. Like the women in the refrain, the individuals in the society are presented metonymically in this poem. “They” can stand for the world, or at least the people the narrator has to face along with a companion. And the earlier question is completed as “Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?” The curious image presented in the lines “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons”, the essential comic quality of the poem reaches some metaphysical levels, linking it irreverently to Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”. In contrast with the longing from the part of the lover who persuades the woman to the consummation of his love for her, the narrator here shows signs of repulsion and nausea, and claims that he has “known them all”. The deceptive and recurrent nature of courtship and sex have seemingly disappointed the narrator and the speech veers to a symbolic level, just like that of Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’, trapped in the body of a repulsive insect, unable to express its real self. Just before the narrator betrays his misgivings regarding the proposition of a forced physical togetherness, he tries to transfer his existence to something less significant and obvious: Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes Of lonely men in shirt sleeves, leaning out of windows?... I should have been apair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. And the indecision and doubt about having the “strength to force the moment to its crisis” reveals his consciousness of failure and inferiority. And he reminds himself of seeing the “moment of my greatness flicker”, he confesses, “And in short, I was afraid”. The abstract image of failure in rising up to the consummation of strong emotions and the apprehensions attendant to it is expressed vividly in these lines. To make it stronger is the representation of the failure of two human beings to share their mindscape, both from the intellectual and emotional level, which is a recurrent theme in his ‘The Wasteland’. The lines “That is not what I meant at all. / That is not it, at all” express the gravity of the situation. And the rationalization of its “worth” later just makes the image of failure clearer. The question of indecision, failure, and sickness are united in the lines “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, not was meant to be”. Here Hamlet is represented as an image, the alter-ego of the narrator, no matter how strong he tries to dissociate from the usual attributes of the Shakespearian character. And more interestingly, he tries to bring in more images related to language and literature, when he describes himself as “Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse” and “at times, the Fool”. Images related to old age recur towards the end of poem: I grow old…I grow old… I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. Acording to M.A.R. Habib, “Eliot’s treatment of language is much more than ‘literary’ experimentation; it is a symptom of the metaphysical and political premises underlying the poem” (Habib 86). Habib relates the thought processes and images in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ to the philosophy and laughter of Schopenhauer, Laforgue and Bergson, which makes even the casual references in the poem significant to the milieu of modernist thoughts of early Twentieth Century and the Western and Eastern philosophy of the times. The irreverence and distrust for the redeeming power of human relationships can also be the effect of the First World War experiences that affected the sensitive poets of the time in a unique manner. References Eliot, T.S. Collected Poems1909-1935. London: Faber and Faber Habib, M.A.R. The Early T.S. Eliot and Western Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Leavis, F.R. New Bearings in English Poetry. London: Penguin Books, 1963. Read More