The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

          I have actually read “The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock” for a British Literature class I took at UNC-Pembroke. I enjoyed this poem the very first time I read it, which is unusual for me since I am not usually very good at reading poetry. It helps to know that this poem is a stream of consciousness, which means that it is basically a regurgitation of everything going on in the narrator’s head. In this case J. Alfred Prufrock is a middle-aged man speaking to an unknown second party. It seems to me that Mr. Prufrock is probably going through what we would classify as a midlife crisis. He has “measured out [his] life with coffee spoons” and is very worried about what others think of him (line 51). He continually asks, “Do I dare?” about seemingly simple things such as eating a peach. Like The Wasteland Prufrock can also seem very obscure at times.

            The translation I found for the quote at the beginning of the poem is “If I believed my answer was to a person who'd ever get back to the world, this flame would keep still without moving any further. But since from those undergrounds no one has ever come back alive, if I hear what's true, I answer you without fear of infamy.” I think this goes along with Prufrock’s inability to speak his mind. His "love song" is not really a romantic love song, but rather a list of his own uncertainties. He is clearly insecure, and does not want to be judged by others even though he is sure others are already judging him. In the end Prufrock seems to come to the conclusion that his actions are pointless because he will eventually die. 

            As I read the poem this time I noticed that lines 111-119 were very helpful in helping me understand what kind of man Prufrock was. He seems very average, but he wishes he were more. Even his name “J. Alfred Prufrock” seems like a name someone important would have, but in reality he is just a normal, insecure, self-centered, middle-aged man. 

My favorite quote from this poem is “In a minute there is time/ For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” (lines 47-48). These lines seems to show just how little control Prufrock feels he has over his life. After reading this poem for some reason if I doubt myself or can’t make a decision about something I think of this quote. I think it helps me empathize with Prufrock in some way. It is very true that even with all of our planning life can change in an instant and there is nothing we can do about it.