This is a very pertinent question to ask about this
strange "love song." Surely, out of all of the love songs that have ever been composed,
this must be one of the most peculiar, as signified by one of the first images included
in the third line:
Let us go then, you and
I,
When the evening is spread out against the
sky
Like a patient etherised upon a
table.
This is hardly the
most romantic image to start off your "love song"! As we read on, we see that J. Alfred
Prufrock is a man who definitely has feelings but he can only entertain them in the
privacy of his own mind. Although his thoughts and emotions are clearly complex, it is
evident that they do nothing to help him overcome his biggest barrier, which is fear of
participation in the world and commitment or engagement. Thus it is that the song
actually shows how he as a character has to take refuge in heroic fantasy, as he
compares himself to a variety of heroes. We are left with a haunting image of a man who
is unable to commit, who measures out his life "in coffee spoons" and faces a lonely
future burdened by the fear of what others think about
him:
I grow
old... I grow old...I shall wear the bottoms of my
trousers rolled.Shal I part my hair behind? Do I dare to
eat a peach?
Such questions
and preoccupations are what fills J. Alfred Prufrock's day. What is unique about this
love song is that it actually reveals far more about the speaker than his "love" and
focuses more on his hang-ups and worries.
No comments:
Post a Comment