Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay The Existential...

The Existential Anguish of J. Alfred Prufrock Upon reading Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the first question which sprang to my mind was the question of how Eliot, a poet who was in his mid-twenties at the time, was able to write a poem dealing with the problems of aging in such a penetrating manner. Upon closer examination, however, I realized that Prufrocks aging was only incidental to his central problem. Prufrocks major problem is a problem of existential anguish. Prufrocks doubts about aging at a dinner party are merely one example of this anguish, and this party brings his psychology into sharp focus when the reader examines closely the moment in which the poems events occur. It is true that†¦show more content†¦It is not the universe that Prufrock may disturb by making advances toward a woman; it is his universe. However, in his tightly wound moment of anguish, Prufrock is completely unable to tell the difference. Prufrocks inability to reveal his interest to the women of the party comes from his conception of himself. He is obsessed with his aging process, for one thing, but this is merely one facet of his self-doubt. His monologue states that he is no prophet (line 83) and that he is not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; rather, he has seen the moment of [his] greatness flicker. (lines 111 and 84) Furthermore, Prufrock feels that the partys women would reject him even if he were of monumental importance. He spends twenty-two lines wondering if it would have been worth it To say: I am Lazarus, come from the dead, Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all -- If one, settling a pillow by hear head, Should say: That is not what I meant at all [...](lines 94-97) If Lazarus has only a slight chance with these women, Prufrock feels, then he has no chance at all. After wondering if it would have been worth it, and meditating on two possible rejection outcomes for a more impressive person, he decides that it would not have been. Prufrocks attitude toward the women at the party is highly ambivalent. Although he is completely obsessed by his unfulfilled desire, he also sees little of value in