The ways in which an author creates a poem are unique and thought provoking. The goal is to make the reader feel the poem and the character. Often, a character is felt by simple characterizations made by the narrator of the story and hints here and there to help personify them. However, T.S. Eliot manages to masterfully open the mind of one J. Alfred Prufrock, a man whose pains and laments evoke empathy in the reader. One feels the era in which Prufrock lives, the society and the events surrounding him, his personal grief and the mood of his life. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” imagery, style and character/era analysis are the means in which T.S. Eliot creates a character that lets us into his life and connect with the reader.
The use of setting and imagery throughout the poem conveys Prufrocks emotional distance from the world in which he lives. The poem makes use of all three major types of settings; the outdoors, human constructs and cultural conditions. The poem begins with reasonably concrete physical settings. For example the cityscape that is metaphorically referred to as “a patient etherized upon a table” (line 4, Eliot). The reader feels a sense of calmness and laxity due to the visual of an etheriz

In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” imagery, style and character/era analysis are the means in which one J. Alfred Prufrock expresses his isolation and depression. There are many factors in which could be leading to his feelings. Perhaps he is going through a mid-life crisis; or simply just ready to settle down. The theme is very applicable, everyone has times when they feel alone, and that is what makes it a masterpiece.

herized person (obviously not moving). He feels detached from this city, as if merely a visitor. He indeed does things simple visitors would do, such as stay at one-night hotels. The city is not comforting for him, the streets are too empty and the yellow fog lays heavy on his head. He brings us into interiors; a place where one should feel comfortable, yet the same anxiety and depression remain. “In the room the women come and go, talking of Michelangelo” (lines 35/36 Eliot). He shows his dismay for the women, walking around speaking of the same dull subjects to put on the façade of being cultured. He also makes many kitchen references (perhaps in relation to the snobbish dinner traditions of the Victorian Era), such as dropping a question on ones plate (line 30) or Prufrock’s lament for his being stereotyped paralleling him being pinned to a wall, wriggling and sprawling, but unable to get away. Lastly, Prufrock leaves us with a very detached scene; a day dream which indeed allows us into the inner most part of Prufrock himself. These ocean images are vague, yes, obviously conveying they are but daydreams. Yet he alludes to mermaids and a tranquil ocean beach to expose the underlying symbolism of “primal life and energy” (Scott-Kilvert, 144). There is no place for Prufrock; a statement in which the character designates himself and honestly believes.

Eliot constructs perfectional character analysis alongside with an analysis of the era to further relate/empathize with Prufrock. The charact