What are the two allusions in The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock?
For example, Prufrock was compared to John the Baptist, Lazarus and Hamlet. These allusions displays Prufrock’s intense self-depreciation. The following lines “Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, / I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;” alludes to the Bible.
What does this allusion reveal about Prufrock?
In the context of the poem, this allusion suggests that Prufrock either thinks or once thought of himself as a dead man, but that his love interest changes that. This unfortunately doesn’t help with his social anxiety. Prince Hamlet is the titular character of Shakespeare’s famous play.
What does Prufrock mean in the last line I do not think they will sing to me?
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
How does Prufrock differentiate himself from Hamlet in The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock?
The main distinction Prufrock makes between himself and Hamlet is not of type but of importance. Hamlet was a heroic character of a heroic age, caught between decisions which affected all of Denmark. By contrast, Prufrock is a mere “attendant lord” asking the trivial questions of the modern age.
Why does Prufrock compare himself 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. Unlike Lazarus, he won’t return with stories to tell. Leaving his mental universe does not mean coming back to life, it means dying; at the end of Prufrock he drowns.
What is the most salient aspect of Prufrock’s physical appearance mentioned at least three times?
baldness
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.
Who are you and I in the first line of Prufrock?
The “you” in this poem is ambiguous. It could be another person Prufrock is speaking to with whom he is going to the party. He could be talking to himself. Eliot establishes with this opening line the idea that Prufrock is addressing or talking to someone who never answers back.
What items does Prufrock measure?
coffee spoons
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?
yellow fog
Who is Prufrock talking to?
Throughout the poem, Prufrock is most likely talking to himself, imagining what he might say to the woman he addresses in his mind as “you” if he could motivate himself to do actually so. The poem intertwines mundane events in the present to which Prufrock continually… (The entire section contains 229 words.)
What is Prufrock afraid of?
Prufrock is afraid of death, rejection, judgment, and growing old alone.
How does Prufrock feel about 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 is the yellow fog in Prufrock?
In an article published in The Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, John Hakac argues that the yellow fog in the first section of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a symbol for love itself, and therefore a significant driving force of the poem.
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.
What do the mermaids symbolize in Prufrock?
The mermaids in the poem represent the unattainable women to whom he is attracted. The fact that they are mermaids, fantastic creatures who inhabit the ocean, emphasizes that they are objects of fantasy rather than realistic aspirations.
What is the yellow fog compared to in a simile?
What is the yellow fog compared to in a simile? How is the fog like such a creature? The yellow fog is compared to a cat. The fog is like a cat because always lingers and “rubs its muzzle on window-panes.” 7.
What Prufrock means?
Alfred Prufrock” is a symbolic poem which reflects the condition and mood of the modern city dwellers. It expresses the hollowness, infertility, the psychological trauma, the spiritual languor, the frustration and the hamletic state of mind of the post war generation.
What color is the fog that rubs it back upon the window panes?
Which best describes the tone of The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock?
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” has a dry, ironic tone that catches precisely the mood of vacillation, weakness, sordidness, and despair of much modern culture. Note the many ironies of the title, including the name of the speaker.
How does Prufrock portray himself in the poem?
Which of the following best describes how Prufrock, the narrator, portrays himself in the poem? He considers himself a failure in all aspects of life except for love. He portrays himself as imaginative and unappreciated as an artist. He sees himself as a fallen hero or a martyr.
Why is the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock called a love song?
Alfred Prufrock” a love song? “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” while not adhering to the traditional idea of a love song, still qualifies as one because it describes the longing of the speaker for his beloved.
What does the epigraph mean in Prufrock?
The epigraph of this poem is a six-line quotation from Canto 27 of the Inferno by the Renaissance Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The quote from this epigraph is said by one of the characters in the eighth circle of Hell (which has nine circles), where some of the worst of the worst are stuck for eternity.
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 meaning of epigraph?
1 : an engraved inscription. 2 : a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme.
What is it that Prufrock wants to do?
Prufrock intends to show his companion the areas of the city that he has wandered in his loneliness. Though he is, it is shown, a member of the higher classes—as is, presumably, the companion he imagines for himself—the district that he wanders through in his mind is the red-light district.
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 type of man is Prufrock?
Alfred Prufrock: J. Alfred Prufrock is a lonely, middle-aged man who moves through a modern, urban environment in a state of confusion and isolation. Prufrock’s preoccupations with his balding head and his banter over afternoon tea provide the outlines of an identity.
Who holds Prufrock’s coat and Snickers?
The eternal Footman who holds his coat seems to be death itself, almost taunting him with a “snicker.” This personification of death suggests that it has been his companion throughout life, holding his coat as if to serve him, when in reality it mocks him.