ole poem shows Prufrock’s lack of confidence. He wants to propose his love or express his feelings, but he cannot. He keeps asking,
“Do I dare?”
“How should I presume?”
These repeated questions show how he hesitates and doubts himself. He is very conscious of his appearance. He thinks others will laugh at his bald spot or his thin arms and legs. His mind is filled with fear of rejection. Through this, Eliot presents his inner voice in a dramatic way.
Memories and Regrets: Prufrock also remembers his past life. He says,
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”
This means his life has been dull, repetitive, and without real achievement. He feels that his great moment has already passed. These are not spoken to others but admitted to himself in a tone of regret. The monologue reveals his deep loneliness and sense of wasted time.
His Desire and His Failure: Prufrock wishes to break free and express his feelings strongly. He imagines himself like Lazarus, who returns from the dead to tell the truth. But even in his imagination, he fears rejection. He imagines that the woman he wants to propose to will reject him. In the end, he admits that he is not a hero like Hamlet, but only a minor character. He says:
“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;”
The poem shows how his dreams collapse under his own fear. His monologue is full of longing, but he fails to act.
Imagery and Stream of Consciousness: The poem uses images to show the movements of Prufrock’s mind. The “yellow fog” moving like a cat, the “mermaids singing,” and the “human voices that wake us and we drown” are all dreamlike pictures of his feelings. Eliot uses the modernist technique of “stream of consciousness.” This style lets us follow Prufrock’s shifting thoughts. His thoughts shift from city streets to rooms with women talking, from biblical images to day-to-day worries. This mixture creates the true sense of interior monologue.
In conclusion, Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a perfect example of an interior monologue. It does not tell a story of action but presents the broken, doubtful, and hesitant voice of Prufrock’s mind. His fears, regrets, and self-mockery show the life of a modern man who cannot express himself. Through Prufrock’s inner speech, Eliot makes us feel the loneliness and weakness of the modern age.
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