Breslin

mind and have less to do with the people around him. The issue of his fate leads Prufrock to an "overwhelming question..."(10) which is never identified, asked, or answered in the poem. This "question" is associated somehow to his psyche, but both its amb

. . .
Alfred Prufrock's unusual pompous/working class sounding name) when he juxtaposes the images of "restless nights in one-night cheap hotels/ And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells"(4-5) and the women who "come and go Talking of Michelangelo. He claims to be "Full of high sentence; but a bit obtuse" while "At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-"(117-118). These two images represent two completely different ways of life. 4) - "If music be the food of love, play on. In the third stanza, Eliot creates an image of yellow fog, connecting Prufrock's consciousness and emotions to nature in a lazy, animal-like way. iguity to the reader and Prufrock's denial to even ask "What is it?"(11) gives some insight into his state of internal turmoil and inability to reason. Being the outsider that he is, Prufrock w!

ill not be accepted by either class; even though he can clearly make the distinction between the two and recognize their members: "I know the voices dying with a dying fall/ Beneath the music from a farther room. His obsession with the passage of time is characterized by its repetition throughout the poem, especially the beginning of the poem. to be young again; and know then what I know now. Prufrock's dissatisfaction in his personal appearance is one, but not the most important of his idiosyncrasies. He sees himself as a unique "specimen" of nature, in a class all by himself - "And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin/ When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,"(57-58). Prufrock's series of questions can also be tied into his unsuccessful attempts at relationships with women. He's indecisive and unsuccessful in his attempts to communicate with other people, repeating "visions and revisions"(33) and "decisions and revisions. ") suggests that Prufrock is just out of reach of the group of people that he wishes to be associated with in life and love, but most likely his feelings of insignificance prevent him from associating with anyone at all. Once again, El!

iot uses the device of ambiguity to reflect the internal struggle in Prufrock and lead the reader to ask themselves again "What is the ‘overwhelming question' that Prufrock is asking?" Unfortunately even Prufrock himself doesn't have the answer.

Common topics in this essay:
Inferno Eliot, Unfortunately Prufrock, Twelfth Night, Coy Mistress, Mother Nature, Princess Salome, Prince Hamlet, God Adam's, Ironically Prufrock, Love Song, throughout poem, fate life, beginning poem, unfortunately prufrock, doomed character prufrock, john baptist, natural world, life prufrock, eliot creates, poem remains, suggests prufrock,

Approximate Word count = 2037
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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