Prufrock, to me, seems like a very
lonely man who wishes he had more. He feels very rejected about his entire
life, and to what I believe is socially awkward. He mentions the smog/fog in
the air that rubs its back against the window-panes. He wants to mingle with
the strangers, but can’t force himself to do so. On top of that, he sees the world as a dirty
and cheap. Now T.S. Eliot was about 21-22 years old when he wrote this poem.
The poem is obviously not about him, but who is it in reference to? Maybe it’s
the way he sees life in general. Prufrock seems to be a middle-aged man that
sees the world as an empty place. Does Eliot see the world the same way? Or
maybe he fears of becoming this man in his future. In reference to the
fog/smog, a timid cat that observes the society around him and never mingles, I’m
sure Eliot does not want to become one who lingers around being creepy. Also,
Prufrock is very indecisive and questions himself way too much. I think he puts
too much thought into everything, making him very weird. Eliot does a very good
job of developing strange characters.
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ReplyDeleteEliot was influenced by Jules LaForgue and Arthur Symon in writing this poem in a new style of free verse that was just emerging. I feel that because of this, he did not see the world in the same way as the character he created, I feel that he was creating a new character outside of himself. He makes a lot of Shakespeare references, and it makes me wonder if his characters had anything to do with developing Alfred Prufrock. As far as the view of the main character--I think it is a poem about heartbreak. I mean the title is 'the love song of Alfred Prufrock' which leads me to believe that love has created his sorrows. I do not think he has always seen the world so bleak and meaningless, but when it comes to women he says he has "already, known them all". Lines 55-69 it seems he is speaking about the future with one of these women with reference to the past. He does this by interjecting "(but in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)" He is actually thinking of a specific girl when trying to imagine his future, a girl he obviously cannot be with any longer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Prufrock is a man that wishes he had more. In a sense he is rjected maybe because of his own inhabitations rather than society actually rejecting him. I kinda wonder the same about who Prufrock is susposed to represent if not Eliot himself. Eliot may not be talking about himself but perhaps he did see the world like this character does. Considering his age at the time, thats not too much of a strecth to consider since men at that age find themselves questioning how they view the world. He could have also feared becoming like this character who knows but its a valid possibility. Prufrock does question himself way too much making him completely weird and anti-social. Eliot does in my opinion also develop these kind of characters well.
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