The Use of Symbolism in T.S. Eliots, The Love Song of J....

The Use of Symbolism in T.S. Eliots, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock A well-written poem is built out of levels. Each level alludes to the next until the ultimate discovery of the poets message. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T. S. Eliot, provides a perfect example of a well-crafted poem comprised of sequential levels, also known as a framed story. At the level just below the very surface, the poem obscurely tells the story of a failed lobster prophet, resurrected from the dead to warn other lobsters of the cruel fate that awaits them in the event of their capture. In the course of the story, the lobster prophet falls prey to the harvest of a lobster catcher and is then sent to a restaurant as food. While in the tank†¦show more content†¦The persona also says that There will be a time to murder and create which refers to the murder of the lobsters to create a lobster dinner for the restaurant patrons (Eliot L. 28). On the next level the restaurants patrons can be equated with Eliots audience. Eliot expresses his feelings that each ne w poem he creates is another opportunity for the audience to murder his point like a lobster. The persona refers to the patrons again as the women [who] come and go / Talking of Michelangelo (Eliot LL. 12-14). This stanza reoccurs throughout the entire poem because it emphasizes important points on multiple levels. The women who come and go are talking of Michelangelo as idle dinner conversation. This stanza holds significance because, in addition to the personas fear of being eaten by these women, it also symbolizes a deeper intrinsic meaning for the poet himself at the next level. The lobster in the poem represents Eliots poetry, and this stanza reflects Eliots own fear of the people who make trivial conversation consuming his poetry and regurgitating it as meaningless banter while overlooking its true intrinsic meaning. Eliot probably felt that his audience had consumed his previous poetry without appreciation in the same way as the patrons consumed the lobster. The lobsters fear the ...human voices [that] wake us, and we drown,Show MoreRelatedThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay1524 Words   |  7 Pageshistorical context of a particular poem Poem: T. S. Eliot, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The context of any given text whether poetry, novels or a movie is always integral to its understanding. Social and historical context of not only the given text, but the writer’s context and reader’s context play an important role in the interpretation and understanding of the major ideas, issues, values and beliefs within the text. T.S (Thomas Stearns) Eliot was one of the twentieth century’s majorRead MoreEssay T.S. Eliot and Modernism931 Words   |  4 Pagesthe socio-political events of the period. 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The dramatic interior monologue that is common in modernist literature is also shared by TS Eliot, who through his poems â€Å"The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock†,†Preludes† and â€Å"Rhapsody on a Windy Night† , communicates a pessimistic view on the dehumanising urban environmentRead MoreThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock1729 Words   |  7 PagesThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The dramatic monologue â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was written by Thomas Stearns Eliot and published in June of 1915. Eliot was born in St Louis, Missouri on September 26, 1888, where he grew up and lived until the age of eighteen. After high school, Eliot studied at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Eventually, Eliot ended up in England where he married his wife Vivien and spent the remainder of his lifeRead MoreEliot s Influences On Literature1013 Words   |  5 PagesDouglass and T.S. 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His father was Henry ware Eliot who was theRead More`` Gold Glade `` And The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock1811 Words   |  8 Pages Poetry, by its formal definition, describes intense literary work that expresses feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. In poems such as â€Å"The Light Comes Brighter†, â€Å"Gold Glade†, and â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†, poets used certain literary devices--such as imagery, personification, symbolism, and rhyme scheme--in order to develop an abstract but simultaneous concrete idea of their internal thoughts and emotions. In â€Å"Gold Glade†, Robert Penn Warren portrayed a