As I returned to this poem as a senior in college, I approached Eliot’s poem with a different perspective. A fun thing I decided to do is use my creative skills to immerse myself in the text. Feel free to use this resource in your lesson plans!

These doodles allowed me to write out different elements that I wanted to talk about in my paper.

Next, is the more challenging part… the actual writing! Here is my essay that I submitted for my Early 20th Century British Literature class:

The Not-So-Romantic Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

In T.S. Eliot’s modernist work, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the themes of alienation and isolation are conveyed through the dramatic monologue of J. Alfred Prufrock as he seeks to gain the courage to conversate with a compelling woman at a social gathering. Literary devices depict his hesitant nature and persistent questioning as they represent a stream of consciousness, a modernist idea, that identifies the source of Prufrock’s alienation. This concept of alienation is also an identifying modernist theme that exposes the vulnerability of Prufrock’s desires and fears. Eliot’s anti-romantic stance is evident throughout the poem through his use of ironic language that contradicts Prufrock’s alleged love song. Prufrock is the medium Eliot uses to showcase the isolating experience that occurs when a character is uncomfortable with an accepted masculine standard of society, for Prufrock is unable to connect with others due to his insecurity about his masculinity and gender expectations. Ultimately, his alienation results from his inability to achieve masculine standards that facilitate an intimate connection, a concept strengthened through Eliot’s use of imagery, monologue, and repetition.

Throughout the poem, Eliot depicts Prufrock as an awkward, non-masculine character through the use of imagery. Masculinity is associated with a male-oriented gender role that can include assertiveness, strength, and physical appearance. Prufrock is self-aware of the fact that he does not fit this standard, and this self-awareness leads to insecurity about how he should attract a woman who might want a more masculine man. An example of this is when he mentions how others will comment on his balding hair, which can be observed as unattractive. Prufrock implies that having more hair would make him more attractive or desirable. He continues thinking, “They will say: ‘But how his arms and legs are thin!’” (Eliot, line 44). This is another argument by Prufrock of how he does not meet a masculine standard because he is not big and strong, being rather thin and weak instead. This is an example of his physical insecurities that ultimately inhibits Prufrock from connecting with others. He fears he does not fit in, and he does not want to be rejected for being different.

Next, Prufrock presents a dramatic monologue that illustrates the isolation and disassociation he embodies through the language he uses. The poem summarizes his lack of masculinity as a type of vulnerable confession. Prufrock tries to find an explanation in himself for why he does not achieve a standard or perform a certain way. He asks himself, “Is it perfume from a dress / That makes me so digress?” (Eliot, lines 65-66).  This inquiry expresses the failed ability to live up to a masculine gender role that consequently isolates and alienates him from connecting with a woman. Eliot uses intentional gender-related ideas, such as perfume, that increase Prufrock’s divide from women. This division and separation are further emphasized by the different references to small creatures when he says, “I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (Eliot, lines 73-74). Prufrock portrays himself as being small and insignificant. The word “ragged” further conveys a non-masculine idea as it implies that he is uneven and worn down.

Furthermore, Prufrock continues his self-deprecating monologue by illustrating a type of science experiment where someone has him pinned down ready to see what is inside. This shows that he feels like he is being dissected and analyzed for his every move. These critical inner feelings present the claim that something must be wrong with Prufrock since he does not achieve a societal expectation. Prufrock alludes to this fact by voicing his overwhelming anxieties about trivial matters like eating a peach. Even the fruit choice itself, peaches, can be viewed as a reference to his femininity since the object is soft and plump. Furthermore, he feels like he cannot even dress masculine as he mentions what his style might be when he gets older saying, “I grow old… I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled” (Eliot, line 120-121). Prufrock describes how his life feels mundane because he does not have the courage or masculine strength to be assertive with what he wants in life. Instead, he preoccupies himself with other ideas, throughout his monologue, of trivial matters that provide a distraction to his bleak life.

Consequently, his life seems to be on autopilot, waiting for something miraculous to happen to him. An example of this is when he discusses the singing mermaids, but he counters with, “I do not think that they will sing to me” (Eliot, line 125). Prufrock’s inner spiral of thoughts conveys his perception of his alienation from women. He presents a case arguing how alienated he feels in previous stanzas with how he is misunderstood because he cannot achieve these masculine standards. Since he is “different” from this traditionally accepted masculinity idea, he feels like he does not belong or deserve a romantic relationship. Prufrock suggests that a romantic relationship is pursued by the man, and since he does not dare to ask his “overwhelming question,” he feels hopeless (Eliot, line 93). This hopeless, dejected attitude is summarized when he exclaims, “It is impossible to say just what I mean!” (Eliot, line 104). Prufrock is misunderstood and isolated from connecting with others because he cannot communicate his innate desire to connect and relate with someone, a largely masculine ability. This language barrier results in an isolated inner experience. Prufrock feels like a lost cause because he cannot express himself and communicate properly to pursue his desires.

In Eliot’s poem, Prufrock uses repetitive language to express the torment that arises from this isolating experience of pursuing a protentional relationship. He is tormented because of his gender insecurities. Prufrock is afraid of rejection, but he is also afraid of not being assertive in a purposeful pursuit. He worries he will not be understood. This worry is shown through the imagined scenario of miscommunication that takes place as the woman insists, “’That is not it at all, / That is not what I meant, at all’” (Eliot, lines 109-110). This emphasis places a dramatic effect on the inability to connect with this woman of interest. Prufrock is imagining what could go wrong in his hopeful pursuit of this potential relationship. He questions if it would be worth it to take control of the situation and risk the possibility of being disappointed or rejected when he says, “And would it have been worth it, after all,” (Eliot, lines 87). He repeats this question again a few lines down. The imagined scenario is Prufrock misinterpreting the words or body language for a flirtatious experience. Prufrock feels like he will be rejected because he does not carry confidence that could result in a more manly disposition, which might secure a romantic relationship.

In addition, Prufrock’s persistent and monotonous questioning further identifies this insecurity that stems from a non-masculine countenance in the way that he fears rejection from a woman of interest. An example of this idea is how he exaggerates the nature of pursuit and the ultimate question he must ask. He feels as though the balance of the universe hangs on him as he struggles to carry the overbearing weight of this unknown question. Repetitive questions and concepts are presented throughout the poem that shows the same emotional resistance. He contemplates, “Do I dare / Disturb the universe?” (Eliot, lines 45-46). This stream of consciousness depicts his dramatic resistance and intense feelings of anxiety about his performance as a man. This performance can also be referenced when Prufrock states, “There will be a time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” (Eliot, lines 26-27). This repetition serves as an observation into Eliot’s stream of consciousness and how he cannot be his true self in every situation because he feels like he needs to “put on a face” that is more appropriate for the situation or encounter. Instead, he must put on a different emotion, personality, and disposition to meet a specific standard to fill the void of his overwhelming loneliness that results from being a withdrawn, single man longing for connection.

As shown above, Eliot labels Prufrock as an insecure, timid character who confesses his non-masculine nature in significant ways. This identity is communicated through the negative imagery, monologue, and repetition that continues to define and label Prufrock’s inability to connect because of the nature of his being. This alienated experience is revealed as a type of vulnerable confession in a dramatic monologue that takes the reader on a quest to uncover the source of his insecurities. With there may be other reasons that influence Prufrock’s character, one suggestion would be his failed attempt at masculinity. Modernist themes associated with alienated characters who convey an inner stream of consciousness, like Prufrock, display a humanistic experience of “putting on a face” to fit into a mold set by society. Prufrock’s “love song” shows the isolation that comes from feeling a loss or lack of connection that provides pleasure, meaning, and identity in life.

Works Cited

Eliot, T.S. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Greenblatt, Stephen, editor. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, by Jahan Ramazani, et al, 10th ed., Norton, 2018, pp. 654–657.