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Modern Man in T.s. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred
Modern Man in T. S. Eliot’s
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
By
Farhad Moradi
M.A. in
English Literature
Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poetry has been of great influence in revealing to man his real identity during the last fifty years. To Eliot, the modern man is no longer the best creature ever created by God. He is neither a being supreme in everything. Nor is he the all-knowing, the most determined, and the sociable creature one might think of. How is this modern man depicted in his poetry is a question that would take time and meticulous effort to be answered. Nevertheless some characteristics of man are more evident in his poetry: Man suffers an impoverishment of emotional vitality. He lives according to the rules of the empty social conventions and those of a decadent culture. Man’s life is partly sordid and sensual. He is to some extent aware of his isolation and footlessness. He feels himself entangled in a corrupt, decaying, Ugly Society. All of these features, however, could be categorized into three major groups. Each group, in turn, would show a series of subsidiary relating problems which would make a whole entity. The duplicity of Man, lack of communication among Men, and Man’s isolation are three basic predicaments of Man, making him more and more alienated. Although, these motifs are common to Eliot’s poetry the writer here tries to trace them in his “Love Song” (The Waste Land and Other Poems 12).
The sense of duplicity within the modern man is a major motif in Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (12). In this poem the hero, Prufrock, is helplessly caught in an interminable quarrel between his own desire to live by himself and the obligation to submit to the social conventions. Eric Sigg in his book, The American T.S. Eliot, affirms that Eliot depicts the duplicity between the “Character and environment” and between the “warning elements within a single soul.” This duplicity makes Purfrock suffer helplessly. The two selves, that is, the personal and the social, have to tolerate each other (188 – 9). For treating each self Prufrock, however, has some strategies.
To the people in the society Prufrock, the representative of the modern Man, has a different self to put forward. This self as Eliot expresses is something artificial that should be prepared: “There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” (Lines 26-27). This notion, however, needs to be explained somehow.
Man, in order to be accepted by others, tries to make himself as similar to them as possible. Joseph Conrad strikes the idea even further. He states that, “We can at times be compelled into a mysterious recognition of our opposite as our true self” (The Norton Anthology of English Literature 847). Man is nevertheless, instinctively and naturally a creature different from what he puts forward in the public. It is palpable, for example, in his getting bored with his fellowmen as soon as they try to penetrate to his personal life. In this sense man is a hypocrite, a double dealer.
Man, again, has a sense of duplicity regarding his own self. He suffers in the society yet he is unwilling, actually unable, to do something about it. In a book entitled T.S. Eliot. The Longer Poems, Derek Teraversi is of the opinion that the badness is within the Man not in the society. According to Traversei, Man is psychologically handicapped. He is unable to take the necessary actions (22 – 28).
The idea of duplicity in its both aspects, within the Man, and between the Man and society, has a general impact on him. Hugh Kenner in his The Invisible Poet specifies that the conflict between Prufrock, who stands for the modern Man, and himself and also his conflict with the society “condemns him to boredom and passivity.” He considers Man’s role in the society no more than that of a fool (20). The fact is expressed, explicitly, in the poem where Prufrock is analyzing himself as: “At times, indeed, almost ridiculous. /Almost, at times, the Fool (limes 118-119).
As a result of this view, Prufrock retreats to his own self which would result in two other problems: his inability to communicate and, consequently, his isolation.
Lack of communication among Men another basic theme functioning in “The Love Song”. The idea is presented by Martin Scofield in T.S. Eliot: The Poems. He, however, puts an emphasis on “a positive relationship… between a man and a woman” (66). Nevertheless, Prufrock seems to be unable to communicate with all of those who are around him, both Men and Women. It is interesting, in the same manner, that others are equally unable to have a positive relation with him. Thus, the idea can be studied from a communal point of view. Inability to communicate is common to all. Yet, the problem with Prufrock is that he is aware of this fact; others are not. Although it seems that others are having conversations as “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo. (Lines 13- 14/35- 36), talking about Michelangelo would be a kind of escape each speaker resorts to not to be touched by the other person’s real words about the real life situation. The Michelangelo talk, in other words, is not a genuine way of communication since it does not penetrate to real alive people’s life, in this case the speakers themselves. Tangible communication, generally referred to, infiltrates the communicators mind and makes a way to their inner selves. Thus defined, there appears no sign of communication in the Michelangelo talk where some women would presumably maneuver over some already-known, stereotyped talk about Michelangelo who, in his turn, being an artist, is deliberately chosen by Eliot as a source of attraction to women. Thus he acts as an entertaining subject to talk about. Nevertheless, the women would, as the nature of such talks importunes, concentrate on out witting each other by putting across deeper familiarity with the artist and his works. They do not, however, get into real conversation about their real alive fellow people. This might have the same cause as Prufrock’s being reticent.
With the repetition of two lines, all in all, there are three places in the poem where Eliot refers to the lack of communication. Line 97 (repeated in line 110), line 103 and line 117 (13-14). Although the idea is common to all of the above mentioned lines, the motives seem to be different in each of them. In lines 97 and 110, for instance, one can observe that Prufrock is uncommunicative because he fears to be misinterpreted. In lines 103 and 117, however, what makes Prufrock reticent is the simple fact that he is unable to utter his words: “Full of sentence, but a bit obtuse” (Line 117).
The fear of being misinterpreted is basic to Prufrock’s preference to be silent. This fear, as expressed in lines 97 and 110, results from the consciousness on the part of Prufrock of the idea of lack of communication. In the two lines Prufrock imagines that he would be able to break the ice and talk to someone, a woman in this case, what would be the outcome of that? Prufrock believes it as being misinterpreted by the lady. She would say: “That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all” (Lines 97-98 109-110). In this way Prufrock never tries a conversation and remains silent.
There is also another cause for Prufrock's silence. In lines 103 and 117 he explicitly alludes to the fact. Line 103 reads: “It is impossible to say just what I mean!” He seems to be willing to express what he has inside. Yet, he seems devoid of the means, hence words. Eliot carries on with this idea to line 117 where he briefly and beautifully summarizes Prufrock: “Full of sentence, but a bit obtuse” (13).
Lack of communication as a theme of modern Man’s, Prufrock's life, in turn, brings up the problem of isolation.
The theme of isolation of the modern man is also central to Eliot’s “The Love Song.” Here Eliot tries to show man as a creature isolated from the community. This man is unable to go to the public. As it was discussed earlier Man is struggling between two selves: Social self, that is, what he puts forward in community, and his own self, a being living by himself. In “The Love Song” these two seem to be at odds with each other. This oddity, by itself, implies that human relations are futile and useless as well. Man should retreat to the remote distances of his mind. The poem, as a whole, affirms the idea. The poem is a monologue not a conversation.
“The Love Song”, being a monologue, is again a symptom of Prufrock’s isolation. In this sense, all of the actions take place in the speaker’s mind. There is no actual action. Walking “at dusk through narrow streets”, “coming from the dead”, “disturbing the universe”, even such minute actions of “scuttling across the floors of silent seas” and other references to action, interspersed throughout the poem, are but fake and false actions taking place in Prufrock’s imagination. He does nothing. He is far removed from the actual world to perform an action. He is isolated. He cannot enjoy being with others or if he can it’s so painful to him. Others’ experience is no better. G.B. Harrison in his book Major British Writers, describe these people as “People whose pleasure are so sordid and so feeble that they seem almost sadder than their pains” (830).
Prufrock’s isolation is reported in different ways in ‘The Love Song”. In a series of lines one can observe that Prufrock considers himself a Man who stands out of the community. He looks at people from outside of their groups. This can be traced in lines 42, 44, 49, 55, and 62. Except for the lines 42 and 44 in the remaining lines Prufrock is addressing the people. He alludes to different parts of their bodies. Line 49 reads. “For I have known them all already, known them all.” Line 55: “and I have known the eyes already, known them all.” And finally line 62: “And I have known the arms already, known them all” (13). A close study shows that Prufrock, through naming the parts of the body, emphasizes that neither of them appeal to him as a whole. Neither could compensate for his isolation. Sexual connotations are evident.
The idea of isolation, however, finds a new dimension in lines 42, and 44. In these lines Prufrock shows himself conscious of the people around him. He believes that they look at him questioningly. They are fault finding. The most terrible scene takes place when they, Prufrock imagines it, begin to talk about his physical deficiencies. His hair and his arms as well as his legs are the targets of their criticism. Line 42 reads: “They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’” Line 44 is another example: “they will say: ‘How his arms and legs are thin!’” (Eliot 12) This sense of consciousness about the surroundings is described as a hindrance to coming to an understanding of the surroundings. The McGraw – Hill Guide to English Literature affirms the idea: “the consciousness presented in the poem is an intensely anxious and important one in that the speaker is unable to draw conclusions about anything” (321). He is nervous about that. He thinks that he is under their scrutiny. Thus, he feels more isolated from them. He, consequently, gets to the point that finds “the chambers of the see” the only suitable place for him to dwell in. (line 129) D.E.S. Maxwell in an essay, entitled “The Early Poem,” in the book Critics On T.S. Eliot states that, “Prufrock… never penetrates beyond ‘the cups, the marmalade, the tea’, to a conclusion either with the ladies in the poem or with his surroundings” (14).
Duplicity, lack of communication, and isolation are three major predicaments from which Prufrock suffers in “The Love Song”. The society seems to have a share in that. Yet, Prufrock, the representative of the modern man, himself, seems to be responsible for his sufferings. That is because everything happens within him. As a result, he becomes more and more alienated; hence the affliction of the modern Man.
Bibliography
· Abrams, M.H.; David, et al. The Norton anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000.
· Gordon, Lyndall. The Wasteland and the Other Poems, London: Faber and Faber, 1940.
· Harrison, G.B. Major British Writers New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc. 1957.
· Kenner, Hugh. The Invisible Poet: T.S. Eliot. London: Mathuen and Co., Ltd, 1985.
· Lawerence, Karen, Seifter, Besty, and Ratner, Lois. The Mc Graw-Hill Guide to English Literature. 2 Vol. 4, USA: McGraw – Hill, Inc., 1985.2:321.
· Scofield, Martin. T.S. Eliot: The Poems. London Faber and Faber, 1994.
· Sigg, Eric. The American T.S. Eliot. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
· Sullivan, Sheila. Reading in Literary Criticism: Critics on T.S. Eliot. New Delhi: George Allen and Unwin Publishers, 1995.
· Traversi, Derek. T.S. Eliot: The Longer Poems. New York: Harcourt Brance Jovanovich, 1976.
About the Author
Born, raised and educated in Iran, I live and work in Kuwait now.
