the love song of J alfred prufrock (1910) Flashcards
what are the key concepts in the love song?
1) the inability to conceptualise strong emotion
2) modern life and its routines have robbed us of agency and our ability to formulate authentic relationships, thus leading us to social and emotional paralysis.
when was the love song written and what are the contextual concerns that Eliot voices?
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock was written in 1910, Eliot encapsulates the anxieties & turbulence of the early twentieth century, that threatened men and led to personal isolation and lack of shared cultural meanings.
what critics/ influences have Eliot taken influence from in his writing of the love song?
Eliot has taken inspiration from modernist techniques - the interior monologue and stream of consciousness to
what are the main techniques Eliot uses in the love song to portray his modern concerns?
form: internal monologue & use of personae that embodies “everyman”
techniques: repetition, juxtaposition, intertextual references/ allusions, metaphor to reflect cultural and individual anxieties resulting in aborted beginnings.
what is a quote that represents the mundanity of modern life?
“i have measured out my life in coffee spoons”
- the metaphor of prufrock measuring his life shows that modern life and its routines have robbed us of our agency.
what is 2 quote that reflects the indecision and social paralysis and aborted beginnings of prufrock in love song?
the repetitions of
- “do i dare, do i dare disturb the universe”
- Irony in the biblical reference to Ecclesiastes “There will be time” shows a sense of procrastination that prevents him from moving forward. This represents the fragile psychological state of humanity, reflecting a modern man crippled with social anxiety.
what are the 5 quotes you are going to use in the love song?
- “i have measured out my life in coffee spoons”
- “there will be time, there will be time”
- “do i dare, do i dare”
- “i have heard the mermaids singing to each other. i do not think they will sing to me”
- “prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”
what does the reference to the mermaids have in relation to Eliot’s contextual concerns?
“I have heard the mermaids singing to each other. I do not think that they will sing to me”
In European folk tales, mermaids represented women. Eliot utilizes pathos to convey alienation from women & man’s alienation from masculinity.
What quote literally demonstrates the fragmentation of individuals in Eliot’s context?
“prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”
the synecdoche represents the persona in individual parts, expressing their detachment from mind and body. Eliot creates a persona in society that constructs and reconstructs in such a way to negate any sense of reality. We are limited by aborted beginnings, reflecting the free verse form.
