Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": An Exploration of Modernist Poems
Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is termed as a pioneer of the Modernist poems, owing to its awakening of the literary world to an entirely new world. The poem is centered on the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of Prufrock, an eponymous speaker. The readers get a window into Prufrock's thoughts as he walks down the streets of London supposedly to meet with a woman. The key message in the poem is not clear as Prufrock seems to be battling with a question probably on his love life or about his life in general. Also, it's not clear whether Prufrock is really in love with the person he is talking to since he talks a lot about himself while ignoring the women for the most part of the poem. Overall, the poem is not just a love song of a distressed young man, but it also explores the alienation of Prufrock from society. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" functions as an interior monologue since in the poem everything is spoken from Prufrock's mind, and the readers get a chance to eavesdrop on Prufrock's stream of consciousness, which flows back and forth triggering different psychological associations.
The Interior Monologue and Prufrock's Conflicted Feelings
As an interior monologue, the poem reveals that Prufrock is a person whose feelings are conflicted between passion and timidity. In the interior monologue, Prufrock, who is the protagonist, speaks in a manner that reveals he is in a sought of a daydream. The poem starts by addressing the self 'You' who accompanies 'I' which is the physical self to a different room to hold a conversation (Eliot). The use of the pronouns 'You' and 'I' do not portray two different people but rather one person with two aspects-the public personality and the ego. Additionally, the use of the two pronouns contributes to the effect of monologue, while also creating the image of a person talking through a mirror to himself. The poem's first line, "Let us go then, you and I," (Eliot) makes it clear that the narrative is a dialogue-based poem. Through the interior monologue, Prufrock reveals his secret thoughts to the readers where he addresses himself in a pressing situation where he wants to propose to a lady but is confused on how to go about it. The pronoun 'You' in the poem is commanded not to question "What is it?" but just to "go and make our visit" (Eliot). The urge to make the visit illustrates Prufrock's urgency where he longs to propose love to a woman, but he does not know how to go about and declare his love.
Prufrock's Insecurities and Reflections
Through the interior monologue, Prufrock expresses his feelings about his mediocre, uneventful and dull life which results in his feelings of inadequacy as well as his fear to take up opportunities. Throughout the poem, Prufrock speaks from his mind 'I' to his physical body 'You' (Eliot). At first, he speaks while facing the mirror where he contemplates going to "a room where women come and go" (Eliot). However, Prufrock does not act on his contemplations but rather goes into numerous daydreams while constantly avoiding the main question on how to confront these women. Prufrock comes to terms with his timidity when he finally concludes that "Overwhelming question would not have changed the outcome of anything" (Eliot). Prufrock later retreats into a final daydream where he goes into the sea in search of the mermaids, and he swims and drowns with them as if submissively admitting to his constant inactivity. Prufrock's inactions and his inability to act on his desires prompt him to use the metaphor "pinned down like an insect" (Eliot). He thus likens his life to that of a helpless insect pinned on a wall, portraying a helpless attitude which thrives on procrastination and building castles in the air as evidenced in the line "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes" (Eliot). The statement illustrates that Prufrock's inactivity and his reflection of his static mental state.
Insecurities, Life Choices, and General Questions
Lastly, through the interior monologue, Prufrock speaks of his insecurities with women, his life choices as well as the general questions about life. Prufrock continually wonders if he did the right thing on certain occasions and he ponders on the opportunities he took and those he missed. The statement "And time yet for a hundred indecisions, and a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of toast and tea" (Eliot) illustrates his inner thoughts on the opportunities he took and those he missed. Landscapes become a metaphor for his feelings and introspection spans the themes in Prufrock's life. Furthermore, he becomes angry with realizing that he has "measured out his life with coffee spoons" (Eliot) meaning that every day he rides on his meaningless fantasies the same way that a coffee spoon keeps stirring coffee without any progress. The statement also illustrates that Prufrock's inactions compare largely to the measures of a coffee spoon meaning very little of his accomplishments can be measured. Also, the repetition of the line "How should I presume?" (Eliot) illustrates Prufrock's indecision as he repeats the same question over and over, without providing an answer. On the same note, Prufrock strives not to be misunderstood as evidenced in the anaphora, "This is not what I meant at all" (Eliot) as he realizes that he will stay inactive, but he does not want the label of cowardice. The allusion of the beheading of John the Baptist describes Prufrock's fears of surrendering his bravery where he defends his position by stating that "I am no prophet" (Eliot). The metaphor thus portrays Prufrock's understanding of his cowardice as well as his inability to confront and deal with his situation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" functions as an interior monologue since in the poem everything is spoken from Prufrock's mind and the readers get a chance to eavesdrop on Prufrock's stream of consciousness, which flows back and forth triggering different psychological associations. Through Prufrock's inner thoughts the audience learns of his insecurities where he continuously fails to take up opportunities with women and hence lives in a static world, where the events of each day do not progress as he fails to act on his desires day in day out. Through his inner thoughts, the audience learns that Prufrock is a very timid character and his fear of failure prevents him from making any progress and from acting on his actions. The comparisons that Prufrock makes about himself both consciously and subconsciously explains the reasons for his low self-esteem timidity as well as his feelings of inferiority. Hence, the use of interior monologue throughout the poem gives the readers a window into Prufrock's mind and thoughts which illustrate his struggles with love.
Works Cited
Eliot, Thomas Stearns. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. McClelland " Stewart, 2016.
