The New Poetry

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Poem by T. S. Eliot
READING 3 Understand the
structure and elements of VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML11-968A
poetry. Analyze the effects of
metrics, rhyme schemes, and
other conventions in American
poetry. RC-11(A) Reflect on Meet the Author
understanding to monitor
comprehension.

T. S. Eliot 1888–1965

When he was alive, T. S. Eliot was one of Monroe of Poetry magazine. In 1915, Eliot’s
the most influential poets in the English- masterpiece “The Love Song of J. Alfred
speaking world. His invention of new Prufrock” appeared in Poetry. That same
poetic rhythms, forms, and themes had year, Eliot married Vivien Haigh-Wood, an
did you know? an enormous impact on other writers and Englishwoman. Struggling to make a living
T. S. Eliot . . . helped usher in a new era in poetry. Eliot, as a writer, Eliot worked as a teacher, a bank
• was also an acclaimed remarked the composer Igor Stravinsky, clerk, and finally as an editor.
playwright. was “not only a great sorcerer of words, but
Breakthroughs in Poetry The 1917
• wrote the book the very key keeper of the language.”
publication of Eliot’s first book, Prufrock
that inspired the A Lover of Philosophy Eliot grew up in St. and Other Observations, signaled a distinct
musical Cats. Louis, Missouri, in a household steeped break with the past. Using colloquial
• won the Nobel Prize in culture and tradition. His mother, speech laced with slang, Eliot created a
in literature in 1948. Charlotte Champe Stearns, was an amateur new, highly original poetic diction. He
poet, and his father, Henry Ware Eliot, also explored new poetic themes, such as
was a successful businessman with New the splendors and horrors of modern life
England roots. Eliot received a broad and the effects of alienation. With the
education, studying at Milton Academy appearance of The Waste Land in 1922,
and Harvard University. After earning Eliot’s reputation was solidified. In this
both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from poem, Eliot articulated the disgust and
Harvard, Eliot continued his studies in disillusionment felt by his generation in
philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and the wake of World War I, as well as
then back at Harvard. However, he never its longing for meaning in a chaotic,
studies. While
completed those studie sometimes frightening, world.
fellowship
on a traveling fe
Inspired by Religion Though a pioneer
in Europe, he met the
in poetry, Eliot became increasingly
Pound, who
poet Ezra Po
conservative in his personal views.
encouraged Eliot’s
Struggling with anxiety over his domestic
ambitions.
poetic amb
troubles, he joined the Church of England
Suc
Literary Success in 1927 and embraced its traditional pieties.
help Eliot
Pound helped In his later collections, Ash Wednesday
gain entry into
in (1930) and Four Quartets (1943), he used
London’s avant-garde
avan poetry to stress the significance of accepting
circle of writers,
writer and religious discipline.
he introduced Eliot’s
poetry to Harriet
H
Author Online
Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML11-968B

968
literary analysis: stream of consciousness
Modern poets explored many ways of breaking free from
the standard conventions of poetic form and even content,
What is
alienation?
changing the nature of both narrative and lyric poetry. One of
the most dramatic breaks from convention in the modern era
was the development of stream of consciousness. Used by both
poets and fiction writers, this technique presents a sometimes
So many of us know the feeling of
chaotic flow of images and ideas, meant to represent the
standing at the edge of a party, wanting
unfiltered thoughts of the speaker or protagonist. “The Love
to join but having no idea what to say
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a dramatic monologue in which
or do. Everyone else is having more
Prufrock, the speaker, addresses a silent listener with a tumble
fun, making better jokes, or wearing
of associative thoughts, allusions, and daydreams.
nicer clothes. And it’s all the worse if
And indeed there will be time you are hoping to approach the object
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street of your affections; do you even stand a
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes chance? In this poem, J. Alfred Prufrock
approaches a party with a similar sense
As you read the poem, try not to be put off by the nonsensical
of alienation. Full of dread and self-
nature of the verse, but be alert to any feelings or ideas that
doubt and fearful of female rejection,
the images seem to suggest.
he wonders whether he dares to step in
reading strategy: summarize stanzas and draw attention to himself.

The difficult thing about reading stream of consciousness is QUICKWRITE Create a list of images
figuring out how to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. A that suggest alienation or isolation to
writer will often jump from one thought to the next without you. They could be explicit, such as that
any clear transition. Fortunately, Eliot has done us the favor of a person hesitating at the edge of a
of grouping his thoughts in stanzas. If you read the stanzas group, or implicit, such as the image of a
closely, you will notice that each one expresses a fairly lonely window lit in the darkness.
coherent idea. Once you summarize and identify the central
idea or image of each stanza, you will have an easier time
tracing the arc, and the sense, of the entire poem.
As you read, record your summary of each stanza in a chart
like the one shown. Some stanzas have only two or three lines;
in these cases, don’t worry about providing a summary as
much as a brief description of the central idea or image.

Stanza Summary/Central Idea

1 Speaker suggests that listener join him on an evening

trip through the lonely city streets.

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

969
 The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot

S’io credessi che mia risposta fosse S ’iocredessi...tirispondo: These

a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, lines are from the Inferno, written
in the early 14th century by Italian
questa fiamma staria senza più scosse. poet Dante Alighieri. As Dante visits
Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo hell, one of the damned agrees to
non tornò vivo alcun, s’i’odo il vero, speak of his torment only because he
believes that Dante cannot return to
senza tema d’infamia ti rispondo. the living world to repeat the tale.

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table; 3  etherised: given ether, a liquid
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, used as an anesthetic.

5 The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
Text restaurants
And sawdust not availablewith for electronic use.
oyster-shells:
Please
Streets that followrefer
like a to your argument
tedious print textbook.
Of insidious intent 9  insidious (Gn-sGdPC-Es): more
10 To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . dangerous than it seems.

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and go

Talking of Michelangelo.

15 The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,

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20 Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
TEKS 3
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep. a a STREAM OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Stream of consciousness is a
And indeed there will be time
writing technique that presents
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street a narrator’s flow of thoughts
25 Rubbing its back upon the window-panes; as they might in reality occur,
There will be time, there will be time enabling the reader to see
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; “inside” the narrator’s head.
Reread lines 1–22, and consider
There will be time to murder and create, the dreamlike quality of the
And time for all the works and days of hands narrator’s wandering thoughts.
30 That lift and drop a question on your plate; What mood is created by the
Time for you and time for me, narrator’s puzzling comparisons?
And time yet for a hundred indecisions, As you reread the first 22
lines, write down any details
And for a hundred visions and revisions, that indicate the stream of
Before the taking of a toast and tea. consciousness technique.

35 In the room the women come and go

Talking of Michelangelo.
Language Coach
Prefixes A prefix is a word part
And indeed there will be time
attached to the beginning of a
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” word. Re- means “again.” Read
TimeText notback
to turn available for electronic
and descend the stair, use. lines 31–34. How do visions and
40 With aPlease refer
bald spot to middle
in the your print
of mytextbook.
hair— revisions differ in meaning? How
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) does the word indecisions relate
to line 33?
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)
45 Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. b b SUMMARIZE STANZAS
Summarize lines 37–48. What do
Prufrock’s repeated questioning
For I have known them all already, known them all—
and his preoccupation with his
50 Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, appearance indicate about his
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; state of mind?
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume? 54 presume: act overconfidently; dare.
56 formulated: reduced to a formula.
55–58 And I have . . . on the wall:
55 And I have known the eyes already, known them all— Prufrock recalls being scrutinized by
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, women at other parties. He portrays
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, himself as a live insect that has been
classified, labeled, and mounted for
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, display.
Then how should I begin

the love song of j. alfred prufrock 971

 60 To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all—

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
65 Is it perfume from a dress Language Coach
That makes me so digress? Word Definitions Digress (line
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl. 66) means “wander away from
And should I then presume? the main topic; ramble.” What
causes the speaker to digress?
And how should I begin?
• • • • •
70 Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? . . .

I should have been a pair of ragged claws 73–74 I should . . . silent seas: Here
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. Prufrock presents an image of
himself as a crayfish.
• • • • •
75 And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep . . . tired . . . or it malingers, 77 malingers (mE-lGngPErz): pretends
StretchedText
on thenot available
floor, for electronic
here beside you and me.use. illness in order to avoid duty or work.

Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, textbook.

Please refer to your print
80 Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, 81–83 But though . . . prophet: an
Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in allusion to the biblical story of John
the Baptist, who is imprisoned by
upon a platter, King Herod (Matthew 14; Mark 6).
I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter; At the request of his wife, Herod
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, had the Baptist’s head cut off and
brought to him on a platter.
85 And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all,

After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, 94 Lazarus: In the biblical story
(John 11:17–44) Lazarus lay dead in
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
his tomb for four days before Jesus
90 Would it have been worth while, brought him back to life.
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
c STREAM OF
To have squeezed the universe into a ball CONSCIOUSNESS
To roll it towards some overwhelming question, Reread lines 75–98. Prufrock
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead, casts himself in three different
95 Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”— images in this stanza, two of
which are biblical allusions.
If one, settling a pillow by her head, Identify these images and
Should say: “That is not what I meant at all. explain what they have in
That is not it, at all.” c common.

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 And would it have been worth it, after all,
100 Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along
the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
105 But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a 105 magic lantern: a forerunner of
the slide projector.
screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
110 That is not what I meant, at all.”
• • • • •
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
115 Deferential, glad to be of use, 115 deferential: yielding to someone
Text not available for electronic use. else’s opinion.
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Please refer to your print textbook. 116 meticulous: extremely careful
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
and precise about details.
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
117 obtuse: slow to understand; dull.
Almost, at times, the Fool.

120 I grow old . . . I grow old . . .

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. d d STREAM OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
What similarities can you detect
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
between the “attendant lord”
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. described in lines 112–119 and
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. Prufrock’s image of himself in
lines 120–121? Explain.
125 I do not think that they will sing to me. 124–125 mermaids . . . to me: In
mythology, mermaids attract mortal
men by their beauty and their
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
singing, sometimes allowing men to
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back live with them in the sea.
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

130 By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

the love song of j. alfred prufrock 973

 After Reading

Comprehension
1. Recall What social situation does Prufrock reflect upon in this poem?
READING 3 Understand the
structure and elements of poetry.
2. Recall How does he feel about this situation? Analyze the effects of metrics, rhyme
schemes, and other conventions in
3. Clarify What is Prufrock’s primary feeling about himself? American poetry. RC-11(A) Reflect
on understanding to monitor

Literary Analysis
comprehension.

4. Synthesize Summaries Review the summaries and central ideas you recorded
as you read. Now, viewing this series of ideas as a narrative with a conflict, a
climax, and a resolution, write a summary of Prufrock’s internal journey.
5. Examine Poetic Devices Review Eliot’s use of repetition and rhyme in lines
23–34. Explain how these devices are used to convey Prufrock’s sense of anxiety.
6. Analyze Stream of Consciousness In the final lines of the poem (lines 122–
131), Prufrock offers his final reflection. For each of the following passages,
offer an explication, or careful analysis. What does each group of lines
suggest about Prufrock’s sense of himself and his place in the world?
What resonating idea are we left with at the poem’s end?
• lines 120–121 (“I grow old . . . trousers rolled.”)
• lines 122–123 (“Shall I part . . . walk upon the beach.”)
• lines 124–125 (“I have heard the mermaids . . . sing to me.”)
• lines 126–131 (“I have seen them riding seaward . . . and we drown.”)
7. Evaluate Form and Content Consider the feelings and ideas that Eliot was
trying to express; in what way can the stream of consciousness technique be
said to reflect these ideas? Explain whether or not you think this technique
is effective, citing evidence.

Literary Criticism
8. Critical Interpretations Literary critic Donald R. Fryxell wrote, “Prufrock is
a trimmer . . . trimmers were those souls in Dante’s Inferno who were
condemned to the vestibule of hell because they had never really lived,
although they were supposedly alive. . . . The Trimmers were lifeless,
spiritless, mindless people.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Give evidence from the text to support your answer.

What is alienation?
The narrator in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” sees himself as set
apart from the crowd. His self-conscious ruminations reflect a profound
fear of rejection. Whom or what might he fear? Have you ever had similar
feelings of alienation? Explain.

974 unit 5: the harlem renaissance and modernism

Wrap-Up: The New Poetry

Modernist Style
While there is no one thing that makes a poem “modern,” most
modernist literature does share some defining features.
Features of Modernism:
• nontraditional subject matter and themes
• a focus on alienated individuals rather than heroes
• use of understatement and irony to reveal emotions and ideas
• use of symbols and images to suggest meaning
• experimentation with style and language

Writing to Synthesize
Review the poems beginnning on page 922 to get a feel for how
they incorporate the features of modernism. Then write your own
poem in the modernist style.
Consider
• what your poem will be about (remember that traditional Extension
themes, such as love, were rejected or reinterpreted by the LISTENING & SPEAKING
modernists) Choose a more traditional poem
• whether your poem will feature a speaker, and what he or she from Units 1–4, such as Poe’s
will be like “The Raven,” and modernize
• how to use understatement or irony to bring out emotions it. Rewrite two stanzas of the
poem as a modernist poet might,
• what symbols or images might best convey your meaning
using the features of modernism
• whether you wish to experiment with language or style as a guideline. Then recite your
stanzas for your classmates, and
discuss the techniques you used
to “update” the poem. You may
need to write out your stanzas
on poster board to show how
you manipulated line length,
stanza form, capitalization and
punctuation, or other elements
of style.

WRITING 14B Write a poem tthat reflects an

awareness of poetic conventions. LISTENING
AND SPEAKING 25 Speak clearly. Give a formal
presentation.

wrap-up 975