The Pitiful Prufrock of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

The Pitiful Prufrock of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   T.S. Elliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," is a melancholy poem of one man's   frustrated search to find the meaning of his existence.   The speaker's strong use of imagery contributes to the poems theme of communion and loneliness. The Poem begins with an invitation from Prufrock to follow him through his self-examination. The imagery of this invitation begins with a startling simile, "Let us go then you and I/ When the evening is spread out against the sky/ Like a patient etherised upon a table." This simile literally describes the evening sky, but functions on another level. Prufrock's description of the "etherised"   evening indicates an altering of perception, and an altering of time, which creates a dreamlike quality throughout the poem. This dreamlike quality is supported throughout the poem with the "yellow fog" that contributes to the slowed-down-etherised feeling of the poem. Time and perception are effectively "etherised" in this poem.      It is almost as if the poem is a suspended moment of realization of one man's life, "spread out against the sky". The imagery of the patient represents Prufrock's self-examination. Furthermore, the imagery of the "etherised patient" denotes a person waiting for treatment. It seems this treatment will be Prufrock's examination of himself and his life. Prufrock repeats his invitation and asks the reader to follow him through a cold and lonely setting that seems to be the Prufrock's domain.   The imagery of the journey through the   city is described   as   pointed to lead the reader (and more accurat... ....   He knows the approval he covets comes from a frivolous, futile, class of people.   He has heard them talk for years and knows only fashion, appearance, art, and style are deemed worthy of discussion.   In fact, he listened so long he can't hear there voices anymore. He can only hear "voices dying with a dying fall," not unlike the indistinguishable hum of music playing in another room.   But this is fine with him, because he and his world are once again at a comfortable place.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally and permanently, Prufrock accepts that he will never be a prophet like Lazarus or a prince like Hamlet, and he slips into the safety of a fantasy world. Works Consulted: T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. ed. M. H. Abrams New York, London: Norton, 1993.