Prufrock Revisited

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, written during World War II reflected the life and ideas of the time. People were depressed and spiritually empty. Life did not seem to have a goal. In line 25 of the poem, “And indeed there will be time / For the yellow smoke the slides along the street / Rubbing back upon the window pane;” and all throughout the stanza, the repetition of “there will be time” gives a feeling of hopelessness. It is like things are dragging on, and the narrator is always putting things away to be done later. The repetition gives an impression of an endless misery and life without a goal.

In line 84, Prufrock discusses death, saying “I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, / And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / and in short, I was afraid,” In this part of the poem, the Prufrock talks about his fear of death, but then asks “And would it be worth if after all”. Through the whole poem, he simply presents problems, but never finds a way to solve them. We can sense the fear in the first few lines, but he does try to conquer it.