J. Alfred Prufrock as a modern man

Modern man’s mental crisis and ugliness of modern urban-civilization through imagery and symbol in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ 

‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’,  a dramatic monologue, is a poem of mental conflict and restlessness of a modern man,  J. Alfred Prufrock, written by T.S Eliot, the harbinger of a new literary trend of early twentieth century, breaking the tradition. The poet was included in such an age which was marked by its growing of so called civilization, but the mental condition of human being was full of frustration and nervousness. When the world was being developed in various aspects, the World War I occurred on account of the high ambition of some world leaders. As a result, millions of people including children and women were killed; the modern people fell in mental despair and failure because of the deterioration of humanity, but they could not change the situation. Moreover, it was also reflected in their thought and feelings. At that time, as a conscious man of the society, T.S. Eliot wrote this poem, reflecting a modern man’s mental crisis and ugliness of the urban modern civilization through an excellent use of symbol and imagery.

There is conformity between the theme and style of the poem. The love song displays a modern man’s disordered mentality in this poem. Therefore, the style of the poem can not, for this sake, be an organized one-- this poem is written in ‘verse libre’ or free verse. Though the feet are iambic, the meter is irregular. The speaker does not want to be restrained in any fixed meter or stanza pattern. In addition, Eliot receives ‘metaphysical conceit’, and has been influenced by the symbolism of French Stephen Mallarme to draw the imagery of modern man’s complex mentality and modern urban civilization. Though, Eliot receives others’ techniques of writing, the theme and setting of this poem are urban.

To begin this discussion, at first we see that the poet makes Prufrock represent a modern man, throughout the poem, by his indecisiveness. So, we can say that Prufrock is a symbol of modern man.

The main theme of the poem is modern man’s mental restlessness, tension and indecisiveness: conflict between passion and cowardice; his irresolution and frustration; a man of timidity but full of passion.

For the sake of showing this thing effectively, the poet creates some images (conceit) and symbols. In addition, another of his purpose is to show or disclose the ugliness of modern civilization. Now we will see the images and the symbols and how these love been used.

At the very first stanza of the poem, we see some excellent symbols and images that reveal the mental condition of a modern city dweller:

         When the evening is spread out against the sky

         Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Prufrock invites his beloved for an evening together, but his mood is compared or symbolized with the patient who has been etherized for an operation and is conscious but conscious of nothing. Again, the speaker says-

         Streets that follow like tedious argument

         Of insidious intent.

Here, the streets of the cities are compared to a long tedious argument of concealed desire which includes a number of arguments one after another. This image utters Prufrock’s boredom to the city streets as well as city life.

            There is another image which expresses a tendency of city women.

In the room the women come and go

                     Talking of Michelangelo.

It means that women have a tendency to discuss about something or someone about whom they know nothing properly. They do it only for maintaining the social manner.

In this poem, the speaker utters the ugliness of modern civilization many times. He mentions the never ending streets, smoking chimneys, dirty drains, ‘sawdust restaurants with oyster- shells’ etc. Again Prufrock tells –

         Is it perfume from a dress

         That makes me so digress?

It means that the modern ladies use such perfumes that shake the mentality of male persons.

Then, he uses some literary images that are allusions from various sources. Prufrock thinks himself like Hamlet and again unlike Hamlet. Prufrock is ‘like Hamlet’, because Hamlet hesitated to take revenge of his father’s murder. In the same way, Prufrock is suffering from a problem of irresolution. Again he is unlike Hamlet, because Hamlet dared to reveal his love to his lover – though, after her death-, but he can not be able enough to make his love proposal expressed to his lover. Again, he says –

         I am Lazarus, come from the dead,

         Come back to tell you all,

‘Lazarus’ taken from the Bible, was sent to Hell and he wanted to come back to the earth for a short while in order to tell his friend about experiences in hell. In the same way Prufrock is living in such a place where he seems to be dead – spiritually dead.

Again, Prufrock shows his inconsistence in imagination. He imagines that his own head, that has slightly turned bald, has been cut and brought in a platter as John the Bapist’s head was brought to the king Herod. Moreover, he thinks that his problem is not so important as that of a prophet like John the Bapist. Yet, he lacks moral courage to speak out his mind to his beloved.

Indeed, Prufrock is so hopeless and annoyed at the modern life that he wants to escape from the reality of the world. He says-

         I should have been a pair of ragged claws

         Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

This couple of lines symbolizes that he wants to be a sea fish that runs quickly across the sea bed with its rough claws, fearing some danger. Similarly Prufrock fears the denying of his love proposal.

Again, he says at the end of the poem-

         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.

It indicates that when Prufrock, a modern man, stays in an imaginary world, his mentality becomes fresh, but whenever he comes back to reality, he falls – here, the word ‘drown’ has been used-- in the problem of talking decisions and in an unexpected world.

He makes an excellent image to show the triviality of modern city life:

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;

Prufrock does not measure his life in terms of creative actions and resolution but by the number of coffee spoons, because he has wasted a large amount of time in taking coffee.

Above all, passion and cowardice are simultaneously continuing in Prufrock’s mind. He takes decision to reveal his love proposal again and again, but he can not express his feelings for only once on account of his timidity and being old in age and bald on the head. His indecisive nature is revealed by this line –

         Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?

                    

But finally, Prufrock withdraws his decision and raises his arguments in favour of his position. He says -

         And indeed there will be time

         To wonder, ‘Do I dare?’ and, ‘Do I dare?’

         Time to turn back and descend the stair,

         With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-

         (They will say: How his hair is growing thin!)

         (They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!’’)