Thoughts on "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (PR)

When I learned that one of our blog posts this month would be a poetry response I immediately thought of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. In our AP Lit poetry unit and in my Hope College poetry class, Eliot's poem has always stood out as my favorite. I actually skyped my sister who was living in India and read it to her. It's that good. So I really like the poem but what do I, as an amateur literary student, have to say about it? It's been analyzed by scholars for decades and already has been examined in every possible angle. Since I like lists (they add an illusion of order in a chaotic world) I decided to list everything that I adore about The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Link to the Poem:  http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam312/prufrock.html

1.) It's dramatic without losing its wittiness:
 The poem tells the tale of a man who is struggling with untold love, self-consciousness and mortality. Eliot could easily have explored these themes in very obvious and sentimental ways but he doesn't. The love life problems are never talked about outright but only hinted at with mentions of "perfume from a dress" (65) and forcing "the moment to its crisis" (80). The reader can understand that Prufrock is self-conscious to his mentions of his thin legs and bald spot. His issues with mortality are brought up with characters like Lazarus and Hamlet along with morbid symbols like yellow fog and seductive, murderous mermaids. Without these features Eliot's themes would belong more in People Magazine than the greatest poem of all time.

2.) The literary references make me feel intelligent:
 There is no greater feeling than to learn about something or someone in class and then be able to connect what you've learned to other aspects of your life. Wow, I just sounded really nerdy. However, it is true that understanding references or difficult words makes one feel good about oneself. I like that Eliot added in such references as Lazarus, Michaelangelo and Hamlet because I can connect what these outside references add to the entire meaning of the poem. Lazarus and Hamlet are characters involving resurrection and death, both of which Prufrock is contemplating. Michaelangelo was a talented artist and the fact that women were discussing them shows that the women are educated and classy. This intimidates Prufrock. It's cool that I can understand all of this just with a little outside help from the Bible, Art History and English class.

3.) Eliot understands flow:
Perhaps what puts The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock above some of my other favorite poems is its smoothness and unique ability to flow. Flow is a bad descriptor, but I can't think of a better word. Flow is what makes the rhythm of the poem feel like crashing waves and flow is what makes you keep reading the poem even after you realize it's ridiculously long and you kind of want to take a break and get a snack. You can't stop mid-poem because that would break the incredible flow. Flow is also what makes reading the poem soothing and calm even as the narrator deals with some pretty big issues. Eliot made the poem sound so beautiful that he was able to entice an audience to read a difficult poem that dealt with difficult subject matter.

This blog post did not even begin to cover the loveliness of this poem so be sure to look it up so you're able to enjoy it as much as I  have. Eliot is great.  He also has three heads which is pretty cool.