Elliot

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is definitely one of my favorite poems, because there is never a dull moment. The intrigue begins in the very epigraph of the poem. The epigraph does not seem to be a very important passage from Dante’s Inferno, but it does leave many questions in the minds of readers. Why did Elliot select this particular passage? I believe it has much to do with the themes of futility and despair that are prevalent throughout the entire piece. It often seems that the narrator carries about him a defeatist attitude, which is preempted by the epigraph. There seems to be no joy at all in Elliot’s tone in the beginning of the poem when he speaks “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: / Streets that follow like a tedious argument” (1195; ll. 6-8). He is totally disinterested in the world overall, as apparently are most others who are oblivious to things around them. Elliot makes a repeated comment about people’s ignorance and apathy to what is going on around them by saying “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (1195; ll. 13-14). People all around these women (including our narrator) are suffering somehow, yet the most important thing in the world to them is Michelangelo. Even after his long descriptions of seemingly awful conditions, their only concern still is Michelangelo. This is very powerful commentary that speaks volumes about people’s major concerns. People do not concern themselves with the condition of the environment or the people around them. Instead they converse about totally inconsequential things, like Michelangelo. The other people in the poem seem only to be concerned with superficial and esthetic aspects of life. Several times he comments on what the people will say about him. First he says, “(They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’),” (1195; ll. 41) and then he says, “(They will say: ‘But how his arms and legs are thin!’),” (1195; ll. 44) but these are not the only things growing thin. The narrator’s character is obviously thinning because of the way he worries about what the superficial people will say.
Because of the disconcert of others, it seems, unfortunately, as though Elliot has given in to despair in this poem, as it is obvious he struggles to find any sort of deep meaning in his own life. He feels as though his life is nothing more than a series of motions. This is apparent through how he measures his life. He says “ For I have known them all already, known them all-- / Have known the evenings, mornings, and afternoons, / I have measured out my life in coffee spoons;” (1195; ll. 49-51). He finds no joy in anything and obviously see most of his actions as totally meaningless. Nothing but despair could be used to describe these feelings. The narrator is such a lost figure that it is unsure if he will ever find himself again. It is an incredibly sad, but extremely moving piece that to me points out a sincere need to never give up hope in ourselves or each other.