Prufrock is not confident with himself mentally or his appearance. He is terrified of what will occur when people see his balding head or his slim and aging body. He believes everyone will think he is old and useless. They will talk about him behind his back.

[They will say: ‘How is hair is growing thin!’]

My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,

My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin--

[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]

This insecurity is definitely a hindrance for him. It holds him back from doing

Prufrock’s troubled mind eventually begins to compare himself to Prince Hamlet which in itself is a ridiculous comparison. The reader realizes that he is more like Polonius before he does. "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;" This is where he finally begins to see his foolishness that the reader has recognized all along. Of course, Eliot has thrown in a few hints to help us out. He finally gives up the ridiculous notion of attempting to be something he is not, Prince Hamlet, and decides to accept his place in society and live life the way he should. It is ironic, however, that it took a comparison to a truly tragic character to recognize his own foolishness.

After that stanza the poem takes on a more solemn tone as he resigns to the realization that he is in fact an old man. The playful rhyme is interrupted and abruptly broken as he considers the mermaids and decides, “I do not think they will sing to me.” Once the reader has reached this point of the poem they begin to see the tragedy of J. Alfred Prufrock. When one considers that after resigning to the fact that he is old and that he does indeed have the time to consider, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I Dare?" the comic imagery of "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;" begins to darken. His eternal dilemma is characterized by his belief that there will be time to consider everything. Suddenly this image reveals his obsession with the passing of time instead of a silly old man leaning over a coffee can.

In Elliot's masterpiece "The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock," as time passes so does the human spirit of the narrator. His heart decays by the moment. Even within his fantasies he is tortured by the ever-present problems which plague him throughout his life. He can't even see the point in expressing his love because of the fear of being rejected. Elliot's depict

Some topics in this essay:
Prufrock Prufrock, Alfred Prufrock, Alfred Prufrock's, Prince Hamlet, JAlfred Prufrock, prince hamlet, Love Song, alfred prufrock, truly tragic character, love song, truly tragic, playful rhyme, love life, reader humor, comic imagery, tragic character, lyrical rhyme,