Who is alfred prufrock

At the same time, he knows that he will never fit in or belong to his surroundings. When he is at a social gathering, in a coffee shop, a pub or restaurant, he retires to a corner and looks at the fog gathering on the window pane. Walking along the sandy beach he dreams of mermaids and their song. His remarkable intellect flashes in his dark humour:. So Prufrock inflates his actions, creates a climactic tension only to deflate it.

He makes us feel that his act of proposing to a lady is as significant as murder or creation, as if he will end up disturbing the universe by this enormous act of courage, only to say at the end that it is no great matter at all. Throughout the poem, Prufrock repeatedly talks about his physical appearance. He has a bald spot on his head, his hair is growing thinner every day, his arms and legs are not muscular or strong.

In short, he is the epitome of ordinariness. However, at the same time, he is aware of the expected image of virility and masculinity that is present in the minds of people. Perhaps he constantly compares himself to these virile figures of grand masculinity, only to find himself belittled and insignificant. He manages to have these episodes or digressions where he transports himself to the world of fantasy, away from the world of human formulations.

Sometimes he yearns to be the lonely crab immersed in silent seas, sometimes he dreams of swimming with the mermaids, sometimes he looks at the evening fog and becomes one with it. These moments show the romantic side of Prufrock which desperately seeks to escape human interaction. However, he is brought back to reality soon through human voices:. He resides in an infernal universe and is always conscious of his shortcomings. It is as if he is living in a metropolitan inferno where human beings do not exhibit any sensitivity, compassion or uniqueness.

He is caught in a cyclic dystopia where every action is undone the next moment. The lines from Inferno, quoted in the beginning of the poem, is an indicator of this crisis. The flickering tongue of flame, Guido, speaking to Dante, is ready to confess and tell everything only because he is certain that Dante would never escape hell to reveal the story to the people of the world. Prufrock is hesitant to express himself likewise. However, he ends up baring his soul to us probably because he knows that we too will never leave this infernal universe just like him.

This dilemma, of oscillating between the world of dreams and the world of reality makes Prufrock a representative of every ordinary sensitive human being. Prufrock never claims to be a hero. All he ever asserts is his ordinariness.

However, when we compare him to the people he describes in the poem, the women speaking of lofty cultural figures disconnected from reality, people who make him feel scrutinised and exposed, we understand that he is not ordinary at all. Smoothed by long fingers, Asleep Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, Would it have been worth while, To have bitten off the matter with a smile, To have squeezed the universe into a ball To roll it towards some overwhelming question,.

And would it have been worth it, after all, Would it have been worth while, After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor— And this, and so much more?

I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— Almost, at times, the Fool. I grow old I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me. I have seen them riding seaward on the waves Combing the white hair of the waves blown back When the wind blows the water white and black. We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown. Alfred Prufrock. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does.

Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Human Insecurity in T. Alfred Prufrock T. Alfred Prufrock is an examination of human insecurity and folly, embodied in the title's J.

Alfred Prufrock. Eliot's story of a man's "overwhelming question", his inability to ask it, and consequently, his mental rejection plays off the poem's many ambiguities, both structural and literal. Eliot uses these uncertainties to develop both the plot of the poem and the character of J.

The poem's setting is one that conjures up images of vagueness. It is filled with "yellow fog" and "yellow smoke", both of which suggest a certain denseness and haziness. Miniver Cheevy wanted to be the hero that Cory was to the people on the street. This also adds to the surprise when Cory, seemingly happy, puts a bullet in his head. Prufrock's happiness in another world, un-judged and secure, is then destroyed as he brings the human voice into the poem.

This complexity is what makes the poem unique and bursting with meaning. This poem by T. S Eliot is not all about a love song rather quite the opposite. This poem however may be interpreted in a different form as it is quite open. Alfred Prufrock who is the narrator of the poem is quite disappointed with the kind of society he lives in. Looking at different aspects of literature used such as imagery and the intended audience, one can easily tell the view of Prufrock on life.

The interpretation the narrator has about life can be deduced to bleak, vacant and repetitive. He is also filled with resentment and anger as is made evident by his "bitter-bitter" heart. This whole scenario represents the dependence of man on the love of another and his state of total denial and sadness when it is taken from him.

The only beam of hope that I could find in this poem is when the man says that he likes his heart despite its bitterness. It holds him back from doing the things he wishes to do. This is the sort of characteristic that makes Alfred into a tragic, doomed character.

He will not find happiness until he finds self-assurance within himself. The repetition of words like vision and revision, show his feelings of inadequacy in communicating with the people around him.

The rhyme scheme Elliot uses in this poem depicts the disenchanted and confused mind of the narrator. Prufrock is considered to be a non- hero. The poem is an acute fusion of modernity and self-consciousness that is debilitating and paralyzing. Prufrock metaphorically looks through his window but never engages meaningfully with the outside world. He is an ageing man who laments the vacuity of his life and lack of intellectual, sexual and spiritual fulfillment.

Alfred Prufrock lacks the courage to undertake anything with an uncertain outcome, such as relationships. At the end, J. Alfred Prufrock lets the reader in on a daydream of his: We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown.