In six pages the alienation and ennui captured by Eliot in his poem 'Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' are the focus of this poetic analysis. Three sources are cited in the bibliography.
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age by staying safely within the cocoon created by all that is dull and familiar, Prufrock captures perfect the ennui and alienation that has characterized the way people have felt
for so much of the last century. It captures the sense of social paralysis that keeps the shy, insecure person from ever doing anything for fear of seeming foolish, or
out of place, or experiencing the embarrassment of having tried and failed. Eliots poem relates a story, with the voice of J. Alfred acting as narrator, telling
his story as a sort of mock epic that overly grandiose terms. Prufrock is mentally rehearsing his plans for evening, i.e. how he will negotiate the city streets, to
finally arrive at his destination, which is a womans apartment. He images the evening in great detail -- the inane and pretentious small talk about art, a meal, his nervousness,
and finally his proposal, which causes the woman in questions to say, "That is not what I meant at all./ That is not it, at all" (Eliot, 2002). As
this indicates, the possibility of rejection is more then Prufrock can bear. He will never take action because he fears the consequences. Therefore, he will never be the "prince," but
merely an attendant. Prufrock states, "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;/Am an attendant loud, one that will do/To swell a progress, start a scene or
two" (Eliot, 2002). Prufrock may, on occasion, be close to the action, may observe the action, but he categorically refuses to be the center of the action. He feels comfortable
only when the focus is somewhere else. Prufrock consistently sees himself in terms of negative symbols, either to the city around him or to cultural heroes to whom