Literature Analysis numero tres ("The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot)

Instead of doing a literature analysis on a book I have yet to finish, I decided to use this as an opportunity to do it on a piece of literature I have read and fully enjoyed. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Elliot has intrigued me with its intricate yet mystifying detail. So here we go..

The poem begins with an allusion to Dante's "Inferno." This excerpt is in italian and is meant to show that Prufrock just wants to tell his story without fear of being infamous. Then the poem transitions into a section that looks like Prufrock is with a woman. He says that he is like a patient etherized upon a table meaning that he is unconscious about his surroundings. Prufrock proceeds to talk about a yellow fog. This is a fog with human-like attributes and movements. After this Prufrock comments on what women think about his aging. his hair is thinning and his style becomes more mature. "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons" this line can be viewed as a sign that Prufrock knows he is old and that he is bound to die soon. Then in a seemimgly non sequitur  manner Prufrock talks about how affected by women he is. Prufrock then explains his past indulgences and how he understands that he isunderserving of a good afterlife and is going to go to hell. Prufrock then alludes to Lazurus, and basically calls himself a messenger. Hamlet also makes and appearance, Prufrock explains that he is not even close to being a Prince Hamlet. At the end of this "love song" he talks again about his age and then personifies the beach and the poem just fades off into the ocean.

This poem is interesting because the ideas presented are puzzling and very educated. Eliot understands how to really stump a reader. Instead of this poem being about a lover like a typical love song, this song is much more morbid. It eulogizes Prufrock before he has even died, and states that he is going to hell for his lifestyle. Prufrock is the medium of this framed narrative (story within a story) because he speaks of his life but then also declares that his story is meant to basically be heard and used as a learning experience. So that the reader doesn't fall into the same situation as Prufrock the reader mustn't make the same mistakes of overindulgence and wastefulness, but to live a productive and proactive life.

Throughout this piece the author is constantly moving between styles of diction and tone. Initially the poem is predominantly about a feminine figure in Prufrock's life, then transitions into his age. Then goes back into women then back to age. Elliot starts it off as a sad song of love but turns into a sad song about life. I see the main element of procrastination in this poem and how in life many people wait until their deathbed to realize that they probably lived life in a wrong way.

The author directly describes Prufrock's character through his aging self and his weakness in women. Indirectly, the author shows Prufrock to be regretful and bitter about a failed life. Prufrock is a static  characterbecause their isn't a personal change within him, he beleives he is going to hell and does nothing about it and solely accepts who he is.