T.S. Eliot was a famous Modernist poet, critic and a dramatist. He is famous for his essay “Tradition and Individual Talent” and his famous poem “The Wasteland”. He was awarded for Nobel Prize in 1948 for his poem “The Wasteland”. He had influenced many poets of the contemporary and he can be considered as a classicist in his approach of writing a poetry.
The poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock” is written in free verse and fragmented ideas. It is to replicate and translate the social reality perceive by one’s consciousness. Prufock is the narrator in the poem who expresses his inner conflict in the form of a monologue which shows the modern complexity and reality. His repetitive use of refrains and fragmented thoughts shows the status of a modern man symbolically. The various imagery in the poem shrouds the emotive sources of monotonous and boredom atmosphere which is translated with the social perception by Prufock.
In addition to this, the influences of Bergson’s philosophy of time is seen as a Modernist poem. The opening statement shows its influences where Prufock highlights “Let us go then , you and I ” where the word “you and I” is the mention of outer time and inner time. Prufock is talking to himself in the statement which delineates the time flowing inside the consciousness of Prufock. It can also be noted in where Prufock states that time is unlimited which exists everywhere and for anything for he says “In a minute there is time/For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” is a clear exemplification of Bergson’s philosophy of time of the linear state of time that flows in a “minute” as well the the thoughts that imbues in that moment of “time”.
Moreover, Eliot coined the term “objective correlative” where the personal emotions are evoked by correlating with the images. it is seen in the poem where Prufock feels “Like a patient etherized upon a table” which evokes a sense of monotonous and numbing atmosphere along with image of a “patient”. It can be noted where he states that the “Streets that follow like a tedious argument /Of insidious intent” which shrouds the emotion of boredom that is felt within in parallel sight of his own observation. He also notes the sense of social criticism which Prufock feels when he is attacked by some “formulated phrase” as he is “pinned and wriggling on the wall” which gives an image of the insect crying in pain on the wall which correlates to the Prufock’s own emotion towards social criticism. The reference to the “Fool” can be considered an objective correlative as it expresses Prufock’s self conscious comparison to being ordinary who at times would appear to be a fool in Shakespearean plays whose role is less important and significant. This shows Eliot’s attack on humanism where he establishes that though a man maybe significant yet he is equally destructible and his presentation of Prufock as being ordinary and insignificant is an attack on Renaissance humanism.
However , allusions are references to the past or knowledge of the past. The allusion has many functions but it makes the poetry objective. The allusions are the combination of poet’s knowledge of the past and his own personal experiences which are amalgamated to shroud a new type of emotion different to poet’s own emotions. There are an allusion to the Renaissance poet “Michelangelo” which signifies the art of humanism but it clearly shows the modern predicament and superficiality in the present. The allusion to Andrew Marvell’s “To his Coy Mistress” shows the existence of “Time” where it is a parallel juxtaposition of comparison as there were limited time in the world of Marvell but unlimited time in the world of Prufock as he states that there are time for “revisions” and “hundred indecisions” as well as hundred visions” which he had processed in his consciousness “Before the taking of a toast and tea”. The allusion to the Bible shows that “Prophet” and “Lazarus” are the people who are not ordinary but of the grand position as well the allusion to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” suggests. It helps to comprehend the values of a man in the modern society who are ordinary for Prufock feels like he is just an “attendant lord” of “Hamlet” who is not focused or paid attention or just an ordinary representation in the play.
Eliot uses heavy symbols in the poem. Symbols are used to bridge the emotions when words fail to express those felt emotions. The “retreats” and “insidious intent” is a symbol of innate perception or the inner landscape of a human mind. The “overwhelming question” is the symbol of modern complexity or uncertainty. The “yellow fog” becomes a symbol of a cat and the symbol of “Time to turn back” is the existence of inner time that exist in one’s consciousness. The “universe” is the symbol of the society and the “eyes” and “arms” is a symbol of an observer from the social reality where the word “formulated phrase” becomes a symbol of gossips and modern sophistication of social reality. The “ragged claws” becomes a symbol of a crab which gives a thematic concern for the isolation of a man and an objective correlative. The lines “It is impossible to say just what I mean” and “This is not what I meant at all” clearly symbolizes the modern vagueness and inability to express one’s emotion into words. The “sea” becomes a symbol of consciousness and the “waves” is the symbol of the conscious flow of time and rich imagination of conscious mind and the phrase “water white and black” is a symbol of vivid and vague imagery one perceive in the mental landscape. The lines “we have lingered in the chambers of the sea” is a symbol of rich imagination within the conscious mind.
Lastly, Eliot developed the concept of self. He was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis and depicts the human self. The human self is divided into two and shows the inner self and outer self. The inner self is the self hidden inside the individual and the outer self is the self which an individual shows it to the world. “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufock” shows the development of self in the lines “There will be time, there will be time /To prepare a face to meet the other faces you meet”. The lines suggest the idea of self where the “face” represent the creation of outer self and hides the inner self and Prufock states that an individual prepares a “face” or outer self for others and hide inner self.
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