Modernist Disillusionment in "The Love Tune of J. Alfred Prufrock"
Unlike the affectionate period that preceded it, the modernist literary motion reflected the thoughts of your Lost Generation damaged by industrialization and warfare trauma. As such, modernist books often employs cynical or detached worldviews in angsty shades. The most well-known writer of the motion, T. S Eliot, explored modernist topics of disillusionment through poetry. One of is own poems, "The Love Track of J. Alfred Prufrock, " focuses on the theme of indecisiveness as a symptom of modernization in world. T. S Eliot's "Love Songs of J. Alfred Prufrock" is representative of the modernist literary cannon through its exploration of the speaker's personal feelings of stress and stagnation.
The repetition of questions and refrains in "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" is employed expressing the speaker's self-doubt and insecurity in a modernized, changing population. The poem generally focuses on the speaker's failure to speak to women, and how this pertains to his fragile self-esteem as a whole. Throughout the poem, the presenter repeats, "In the area the women come and go Speaking of Michelangelo" (lines 13-14). This repeated observation of the ladies coming and heading acts as a disruption to the speaker's hypothetical dialogue with the girl he loves. He is unable to deal with women because they intimidate him, especially in a fresh modern culture where women tend to be more educated and self-employed. The speaker also uses repetition by questioning himself, "How must i presume?" (range 54). The question follows his memory of earlier rejections, wavering his take care of to pursue a female romantically. He's so paralyzed by his insecurity that he cannot even carry a discussion. This repetition is significant because it shows the loudspeaker questioning his put in place society, the theme in modernist writing.
Eliot's poem also includes multiple allusions to typical literary works, which are indicative of modernist skepticism of traditions. The references come from varied texts, like the Bible, Dante, Chaucer, and Greek philosophers, but Eliot especially focuses on Shakespeare. In one stanza, the speaker laments "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, the one that can do To swell a progress, start a field or two" (lines 111-113). Here, the speaker feels too little personal agency, in support of sees himself as an extension of others; he will only ever be in a encouraging role for individuals who lead. J. Alfred Prufrock won't lead a improvement like Chaucer, or woo a coy mistress like Marvell, just like he'll never be the Hamlet or Lazarus he needs he was. He is too worried to even try. Traditional allusions such as this are a signature of the modernist writing, where in fact the traditional is employed as a framework for contemplating the contemporary. These allusions are meant to show the speaker's weakness, of what he can't ever attain. They are not used for glorifying the past, but also for questioning today's.
In the poem, the speaker's concern with inadequacy with women is connected to his greater fear of maturing and mortality, and shows his existential turmoil. When trying to gather the courage to pursue his charming interest, the presenter resigns "I am no prophet - and here's no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman carry my layer, and snicker, And in short, I was scared" (lines 83-86). The presenter sees his social awkwardness as more than simply situational; it's the story of his life, the thing that identifies his character. In every small failed interaction, he seems that his life has no importance, and this any case of success is fleeting. He imagines Loss of life, the "eternal Footman, " mocking him, as he imagines women mocking him. Through this imagery, the speaker imagines his failing to win over the woman he is in love with as the literal death of him. By hooking up charming insecurity with existential insecurity, T. S. Eliot explores both small- and large-scale implications of modernist thought.
Modernist literature differed from past literary moves in its exploration of the internal mind, rather than the external world. Although deeply damaged by exterior societal issues (industrialization, imperialism, conflict), modernist style generally targets personal psyche. Modernist literary works often take the proper execution of stream-of-consciousness, or in the case of "The Love Songs of J. Alfred Prufrock, " dramatic monologue, seldom with any insight of interpersonal dialogue. By turning the narrative inward, modernism searched for to expose the way the world most importantly can impact the individual body and mind. "The Love Music of J. Alfred Prufrock" remains a primary exemplory case of modernism due to its ability to help make the reader hook up so in person with the speaker's inside conflicts, and consequently understand the exterior conflicts of the early 20th hundred years.
Works Cited
Eliot, T. S. The Love Tune of J. Alfred Prufrock. N. p. : n. p. , 1915. Print out.
