 Born in St. Louis, MO  Grandfather founded Washington University  Graduated from Harvard; did post-graduate work at the Sorbonne in Paris  Moved to London just before WW I began  Gave up US citizenship in 1927; became a subject of the king of England  Worked in a bank; had a nervous breakdown; married an emotionally troubled woman; took up literature

 Etherized – put to sleep with ether before an operation; highly drugged  Overwhelming – overpowering with great numbers or force  Lingered – was slow to leave  Digress – take a side path; get away from the main idea when speaking or writing  Presume – to do something without clear permission; to take for granted

 Attendant – servant; assistant; helper  Politic – smart; crafty; shrewd  Cautious – alert; careful; not impulsive  Meticulous – very careful about every detail  Obtuse – insensitive; not quick-thinking; not sharp

 The speaker is a character named J. Alfred Prufrock.  He has no one to share his feelings with.  He feels he’ll never participate in life, so he indulges in fantasies.  He knows there are two sides to every issue, but he can’t act on any of this knowledge.

 Prufrock is very self-conscious.  He seeks the meaning of life and the nature of romantic love.  He tries unsuccessfully to find a place for himself in the world.  Throughout the poem, he can’t focus on one thing at a time.  The poem is a series of disjointed scenes that are psychologically related to the speaker’s half-formed thoughts.

 Epigraph – a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work  The epigraph in “The Love Song…” is from Dante’s Divine Comedy. The speaker is a man who has been sent to hell because he has given evil advice.  Prufrock is speaking from his own personal hell.

 “Let us go then, you and I”  Prufrock issues an invitation to an unspecified person to go to an unspecified place.  “Like a patient etherized”  The night is compared to an unconscious patient  Setting – a run-down, tawdry part of town  Half-deserted streets  One-night cheap hotels  Sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells These are probably the kinds of places that Prufrock frequents  Prufrock begins to look ahead to where he is going.

 Rhymed couplet  Repeated in lines  Women are walking in and out of rooms talking about artistics things

 Yellow fog – metaphor  Fog is compared to a cat  Why does Prufrock explore the metaphor at such length?  Prufrock has turned his attention back to his actual surroundings.

 He repeats the phrase “there will be time” and the word “time” to suggest both eternity and hesitation.  “To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”  He wants to put on a “mask” or assume an attitude that will help him face other people.

 Prufrock is insecure, and he worries about what others think about him.  “Do I dare?”  “They will say:” “They” are the people Prufrock sees socially, especially women.  What could he want to dare to do???

 “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons”  Shows that Prufrock is very careful and cautious  He sees himself as socially inept. How can he hope to assume a part in real human life with anyone?  He knows how uncomfortable it can be to be a part of a faltering conversation.

 He is aware that people appraise him, and that their appraisal is different from the way he appraises himself.  He feels like a bug that has been pinned onto a board.  He compares his days to the butt-end of a cigarette. This suggests waste or trash.

 He longs to be close to a woman, but he is afraid to initiate the contact.  The smell of her perfume makes him go back in time.

 He spends his early evenings walking along deserted streets.  As he does this, he notices men sitting in their windows smoking their pipes.  He calls these men “lonely” but it is really Prufrock who is lonely.

 Prufrock compares himself to a crab or some other crustacean crawling along the ocean floor.  What image does this give you?

 The evening “sleeps” but it really isn’t a peaceful sleep.  Allusions: “I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter” refers to the execution of John the Baptist.  The “eternal Footman” refers to death.  He sees death mocking him. This continues to show his lack of confidence.

 Prufrock wonders what it would be like to be Lazarus. (Another allusion…)  He fears that if he says what he wants to say that he will be misunderstood and that he will alienate the woman.

 He is frustrated and filled with dread.  This causes his thoughts to be fragmented.  He doesn’t feel like he can really explain what he feels or thinks.  He continues to feel like he would be misunderstood.

 Allusion: Prince Hamlet (Shakespeare)  Prufrock sees himself as an “extra” and not as someone who is important.  He feels like he often looks foolish.

 Prufrock is thinking about making himself look younger by rolling his trousers.  Rolled trousers was fashionable during this time.

 More evidence that Prufrock is unsure of himself.  He says he has heard mermaids singing to each other.

 He does not feel like the mermaids will sing to him.  He feels that he will miss intimacy, understanding, and love.

 He sees the mermaids riding out to sea on the waves.  His hopes for change are fading as the mermaids go.

 His spell is broken by human voices.  “We drown” could mean that he is losing hope.