As a member of his social strata he participates in all the formal and social gatherings and as an outsider he feels bored stiff and isolated from it. Port, its literary teas and its Ivy League graduates.”įor Prufrock who hails from the upper class society, the joy and cheer of parties becomes mere part of his upper class origin and yet outside the social class. “The literal situation of the poem is the turn-of-the-centuryīoston with its manners, poses, its summer houses at Hyannis Such boredom is discernible even in the relation between sexes. A tea party is of utmost importance and playing card games is the only way out to conquer ennui. In Prufrock’s world action is not of importance and social life is similar to the one portrayed in Alexander Pope’s mock epic Rape of the Lock. Nor can he brought to mind for his tragic actions like those of Hamlet. He is neither a prophet nor the imaginary character Hamlet because he cannot be remembered by his prophesies through time. He juxtaposes his life with that of John the Baptist and Shakespeare’s Hamlet and avers that he is comparable with neither. Prufrock also uses figures connected with getting old and life reaching its end. Symbolism and Imagery in Love Song of J.This is the most obvious repetition concerning his feelings toward age as in line 120, “I grow old… I grow old…” Marvell’s lover is trying to convince the lady about the necessity to hurry up saying, “Time’s winged chariot hurrying near,” but Prufrock is trying to convince himself that there is a lot of time left for him to take decisions or enter into action. That is, life is short and one should hasten to make the best use of it. Marvell utilizes the carpe diem philosophy to show the loss involved in waiting too long as lovers before consummation. He repeats often that there will be time for everything This is ironically a reference in contrast to Andrew Marvell’s poem “ To His Coy Mistress“. Several of Prufrock’s repetitions expose his anxiety about time. He realizes that he is what he is, he must face reality and accept the place given to him in the society. Even that is not satisfying and he decides he cannot he anything and stops the attempt. It is no doubt an absurd comparison and Prufrock realizes his folly soon and avers that it would be more Gating to consider the father of Ophelia, Polonius, as his equal. Gradually his distressed mind juxtaposes his self against Shakespeare’s prince Hamlet whose tragic flaw is procrastination. He fails to act or speak when he should and that is the result of his indecisive nature. He is afraid the woman he approaches will throw a pillow and say “not at all” repeatedly, implying there was no intention of seeking or sharing love. He is hypersensitive and imagines several unpleasant situations. His failure lies in the fact that he is unable to remain faithful to any accepted code of social conduct that would help him maintain his equanimity. His heart is divided between intense passion on the one hand and diffidence and shyness on the other. The speaker or narrator of the poem, is a shy, nervous middle-aged, over-cautious balding man who feels very insecure in life, lacks confidence and is frightened very easily. As the poem progresses there is a shift to a grim tone with the imagery reflecting distress. This impression is created by lyrical rhyme and comic imagery in the lines. Alfred Prufrock, an interior monologue, starts on a humorous vein describing an elderly gentleman struggling to shake off the effects of aging.
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