The Pitiful Prufrock Essay Research Paper The

The Pitiful Prufrock Essay, Research Paper The Pitiful Prufrock 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 accurately Prufrock) to an overwhelming question. Prufrock?s description of the urban city is quite dreary: ” Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,/ The muttering retreats/ Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels/ And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells;/ Streets that follow like a tedious argument/ Of insidious intent.” This is the lonely setting that Prufrock lives out his meager existence. This city is suspended under the same anesthesia that spreads the evening like an “etherised patient.” Prufrock moves his attention from the city to his final destination; “the room the women come and go/ Speaking of Michealangelo.” This couplet contrasts with the previous urban

landscape and adds anticipation to the ominous tension surrounding the event. This line also is about time. The couplet suggests that Prufrock has been around to see these women “come and go,” implying Prufrock has been situated in the high societal environment for some time. The line also implies that while others have come and gone from the social circles Prufrock is a part of; Prufrock has stayed stagnating. On the way, Prufrock deliberates on whether he can find value in the cold superficial environment, and ask the overwhelming question, “Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?”. He feels if he can muster the courage to ask the question, he may at last find value in his life: “would it have been worth while/ To have bitten off the matter with a smile,? To have squeezed

the universe into a ball.” Ultimately, he fails at both tasks. Throughout the poem, the themes of time?s passage and age continue to illustrate the unhappiness of Prufrock?s life. Prufrock reveals the measured out portions of life he has lived: “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons.” This phrase shows Prufrock?s inability to seize the day. He also employs subtle devices, such as thinning hair and resulting bald spot, as indicators of age and the importance he feels now that he is past his prime: “Time to turn back and descend the stair,/ With a bald spot in the middle of my hair–/ (They will say: ?How his hair is growing thin?)” This shows Prufrock?s fear of being laughed at. Furthermore, this line shows Prufrock?s desire to “disturb the universe,” and his