Customer Reviews

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: And Other Poems

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Perhaps not the seminal work which is "The Waste Land", nevertheless Prufrock is one of the key poems of the early 20th Century. I remember fondly first encountering this poem as a high-schooler -- what an enchanting mixture of ideas, emotions, allusions, sympathies, images. And all of this from Eliot's early 20's! Simply a smashing poem -- it will move you, it will cut you to the core, really, even if you do away with the many erudite allusions and references that are so typical of many of Eliot's poems. Whether you read it in a separate volume such as this, or in a larger collection of Eliot's works, you should rad "Prufrock" -- you will learn more about yourself if you do.

When I first encountered "Prufrock" in an American literature class, I was slightly put off by his erudite work. In a way, I was just completely intimidated by it and did not give it much thought. Later on, I was once again faced with Prufrock and this time I decided to "tackle" the challenge...I could not believe that I had blown of such an amazing work earlier on. Prufrock holds feelings and ideas that we can all identify with. The imagery of a man, alienated from the world, too scared and shy to go after what he thinks he wants for fear of never really being satisfied, rings true with many of our feelings today. I found it especially interesting how Eliot manages to use such a mature voice in this poem even though he wrote it when he was in his early 20's. Eliot was an amazing poet whose work will never leave us.

"Do I dare disturb the universe?" the narrator questions in Eliot's most special poem. Indeed we do! J. Alfred Prufrock is a masterpiece in both form and function; a glittering slide-show of insurmountable obstacles and emotions, a critical read for anyone lierate or informed.

Perhaps the most noted and respected poem of T.S. Eliot's industrious career, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock exemplifies modernism in English Literature. Eliot composed Prufrock while attending Harvard, and it later it became his first published work of poetry, almost instantly capturing the attention of literary critics everywhere. For this reason, Prufrock has been a subject of study since its publication in 1915, prodding readers to ask fundamental questions: Is it all worth it? And who are we?

Common to modernism is the adoption of disruption: Disruption of continuity, disruption of social mores, and disruption of Victorian convention. In this way, Prufrock epitomizes modernism through its use of complex imagery and multifaceted insinuation; it is the story of a man conflicted in the same ways early 20th-century western culture was conflicted.

The introspective slant present in this modernist piece of literature and the historical backdrop before which it was written make Prufrock a pivotal social statement, as well as a snap-shot of the changes taking place in western culture at the turn of the 20th century. Stanly Sultan (1985) called Prufrock a "cultural artifact" because it reflects the concerns of a people caught in the turmoil of cultural revolution. Genteel society had come into question, and the opulence associated with privilege had experienced great defeats. Europe commenced toward socialism, and the United States had begun its journey as world power.

The world was asking itself the same questions that Prufrock asked: Is it all worth it? Who are we? Eliot offered the world an answer to these difficult questions through Prufrock. No! It is not worth it. We are conflicted, contradictory people. We have no heroes. We have no greatness. And those of us who are good and pious are silenced by exclusion. "I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas"-this is ultimately what Prufrock wishes; maybe that he was never born.

A fantastic poem. A fantastic writer.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a masterpiece. The rhythmic cadence of it, the tentative narrative style, the imagery ('I wish I were a pair of ragged claws/ scuttling across silent seas.'), even the title are brilliant and wonderful.

I love the imagery and allusions. This is a masterpiece. T.S. knows what he's doing.