How does the famous simile in lines 2 3

And how should I begin? Why is he thinking about them? Perhaps it is the smell of a woman's perfume. Arms that lie along table line 67 : This phrase echoes line 3. I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

He should have been nothing more than crab claws in the depths of the silent ocean. Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? Should the speaker sit down with someone and have dessert — should he take a chance, make an acquaintance, live? Oh, he has suffered; he has even imagined his head being brought in on a platter, like the head of John the Baptist.

Of course, unlike John, he is no prophet. He has seen his opportunities pass and even seen death up close, holding his coat, snickering. He has been afraid. Allusion, head brought in upon a platter line 82 : Phrase associated with John the Baptist, Jewish prophet of the First Century AD who urged people to reform their lives and who prepared the way for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.

In retaliation, Herod Antipas imprisoned John but was afraid to kill him because of his popularity with the people.

Salome, the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, danced at a birthday party for Herod Antipas. Her performance was so enthralling that Herod said she could have any reward of her choice. Prompted by Herodias, who was outraged by John the Baptist's condemnation of her marriage, Salome asked for the head of the Baptist on a platter.

Because he did not want to go back on his word, Herod fulfilled her request. John was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Footman line 85 : Servant in a uniform who opens doors, waits on tables, helps people into carriages. The footman is a symbol of death; he helps a person into the afterlife. That is not it, at all. Would it have been worth it to arise from his lifeless life and dare to engage in conversation with a woman, only to have her criticize him or reject him. When Lazarus died, he was taken into heaven.

When a rich man named Dives died, he went to hell. He requested that Lazarus be returned to earth to warn his brothers about the horror of hell, but his request was denied.

Would it have been worth it after all the mornings or evenings when workmen sprinkled the streets see sprinkled streets, below , after all the novels he would discuss with her over tea, after all the times he heard the drag of her skirt along the floor, after so many other occasions? Would it have been worth it if, after plumping a pillow or throwing off her shawl, she turned casually toward a window and told him that he was mistaken about her intentions toward him? The magic lantern also called sciopticon projected an image from a glass plate.

I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— Almost, at times, the Fool. But Prufrock lacks the majesty and charisma of Hamlet. Therefore, he fancies himself as Polonius, the busybody lord chamberlain in Shakespeare's play.

Allusion , Prince Hamlet line : Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark , famous for his hesitancy and indecision while plotting to avenge the murder of his father, King Hamlet, by the king's brother, Claudius.

Prufrock is like young Hamlet in that the latter is also indecisive. However, Prufrock decides not to compare himself with Hamlet, who is charismatic and even majestic in spite of his shortcomings.

Instead, Prufrock compares himself with an unimpressive character in the Shakespeare play, an attendant lord, Polonius. See next entry. Allusion , attendant lord line : Polonius, the lord chamberlain in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Polonius, a bootlicking advisor to the new king, Claudius, sometimes uses a whole paragraph of important-sounding words to say what most other people could say in a simple declarative sentence.

His pedantry makes him look foolish at times. Prufrock, of course, is worried that the words he speaks will make him look foolish, too. Allusion , progress line : In the time of a Shakespeare, a journey that a king or queen of England made with his or her entourage, Allusion , high sentence : The high-flown, pretentious language of Polonius See Allusion, attendant lord , just above. Allusion , Fool line : Eliot capitalizes this word, suggesting that it refers to a court jester also called a fool in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

There is no living fool in Hamlet, but there is a dead one, Yorick. In a famous scene in the play, two men are digging the grave of Ophelia when they unearth the skull of Yorick while Hamlet is present. Picking it up, Hamlet says, Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!

Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? In the courts of England in Shakespeare's time, a fool was a comic figure with a quick tongue who entertained the king, the queen, and their guests. He was allowed to—and even expected to—criticize anyone at court. Many fools were dwarfs or cripples, their odd appearance enhancing their appeal and, according to prevailing beliefs, bringing good luck to the court.

Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

However, like other men going through a middle-age crisis, he considers changing his hairstyle and clothes. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Welcome to the land of symbols, imagery, and wordplay.

Before you travel any further, please know that there may be some thorny academic terminology ahead. Never fear, Shmoop is here.

Check out our "How to Read a Poem" section for a glossary of terms. Quite the opposite, it seems to be the seediest part of town.

Just like our narrator, the streets are misleading and go nowhere. Have you ever seen one of those PBS shows or period films where British people sit around and sip tea and eat finger foods? Especially tea. He loves to use the "synecdoche," which takes one part of an object and uses it to represent the whole. He talks about "faces," "eyes," and "arms," but never full human beings. Prufrock suggests that he might be better suited to living in the deep, cold, lonely ocean than in the society of other people.

In fact, he drowns. He also fantasizes a lot about entering rooms — perhaps bedrooms — where the woman he loves can be found. Always the pessimist, he images a woman leaning on a pillow who rejects him. At the end of the poem, he just might have found the perfect room for him: at the bottom of the ocean. Prufrock spends much of the poem acting like the notoriously indecisive Hamlet.

But, in the end, he decides that even indecision is too decisive for him. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. To my view the its not a song but a prelude of a great poem.

I shall further write on the topic,if it shall be appreciated,its just the beginning……………………………………. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Email Address:. Create a free website or blog at WordPress. Setting The setting of the poem is in the evening in a bleak section of a smoky city.

Characters J. Themes L oneliness and a lienation Prufrock is a pathetic man whose anxieties and obsessions have isolated him , I ndecision Prufrock resists making decisions for fear that their outcomes will turn out wrong , I nadequacy Prufrock continually worries that he will make a fool of himself and that people will ridicule him for his clothes, his bald spot, and his overall physical appearance and Pessimism Prufrock sees only the negative side of his own life and the lives of others.

Alfred Prufrock is a modernistic poem that expresses the thoughts of the title character via the following: Conversational Language Combined With the Stylized Language of Poetry: For example, the poem opens straightforwardly with Let us go then, you and I.

Variations in Line Length and Meter: Some lines contain only three words. Others contain as many as fourteen. The meter also varies. Shifts in the Train of Thought : The train of thought sometimes shifts abruptly, without transition, apparently in imitation of the way the human mind works when it dreams or day dreams or reacts to an external stimulus. Shifts in Topics Under Discussion : The subject under discussion sometimes shifts abruptly, from trifling matters one moment.

For example, one time Prufrock talks about the bald spot or the length of his trousers another time he talks about the time and universe. Shifts From Abstract to Concrete and Universal to Particular : The poem frequently toggles between 1 the abstract or universal and 2 the concrete or specific.

Examples of abstract language are muttering retreats line 5 and tedious argument of insidious intent lines Examples of phrases or clauses with universal nouns are the muttering retreats and the women come and go. Examples of concrete language are oyster-shells line 7 and soot line Examples of particular specific language are Michelangelo line 14 and October line Shifts From Obvious Allusions or References to Oblique Allusions or References : Prufrock quotes, paraphrases, or cites historical or fictional persons, places, things, or ideas.

Some of his references are easy to fathom. For example, everyone with a modicum of education knows who Michelangelo was line Other references are difficult to fathom. In his use of allusions, Eliot apparently wanted to show that Prufrock was well read and retained bits and pieces of what he read in his memory, like all of us.

Works Cited Bush, Ronald. Datta, DA. Teaching The Waste Land. Hyderabad: Sravya Grafics, Forster, E. Essay on T. Eliot, in Life and Letters. Like this: Like Loading June 1, at Kashiaj Pandey says:. June 6, at Motikala Subba Dewan says:. June 18, at Sajjad Hussain,Lecturer in English says:. March 11, at Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:.

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