The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock

1. What is the role of Time in this poem?
1. That there is limited time, a scarce resource that everyone desires, but can’t extend. The tone is solemn; the author tries to reiterate that there IS time, that there’s time for “the yellow smoke that slides along the street.” But the repetition of the phrase “there is time,” that is used to assure the narrator, only seems to sound trivial. It’s a phrase to assure yourself of the thing that will never occur, a sliver of false hope. In the end, the narrator, contemplating the issue of time, never actually acts upon it, never uses  his limited time to do something.     

1. What is the significance of Eliot's allusions to Hamlet and the "eternal Footman"?
1. Eliot alludes to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by comparing himself to the Prince. He compares himself to Hamlet, stating that “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be.” It is significant because both the narrator from the poem and Hamlet from the play struggle with time, and the usage of that time to act cordially. However, he states clearly that he isn’t comparable to the Prince. Why not? I mean, if both struggled about the same concept of time and action, why does he mention how incomparable they are? Well, the major difference between the two is that although both struggled with time and action, Hamlet (in the end) actually does something with his time. Although struggled with his actions, in the end, he still did something with it. The narrator, on the other hand, only contemplates what actions he’s able to do with time. He never truly uses that limited time to act, but only uses to makes excuses. His thoughts swayed towards that idea that that there is time, action doesn’t have to occur now. As a result, nothing is accomplished.     

1. Choose a moment in which Eliot uses figurative language and: interpret the image (explain how the image and its meaning contribute to your understanding of the theme of the poem)

“I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves

Combing the white hair of the waves blown back

When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

Till human voices wake us, and we drown.”

1. Eliot describes the Sirens, mythological creatures that lure sea captains, by singing to them, unto their deaths. The narrator explains how he has seen them, but isn’t expecting them to sing to him. He sounds wistful, lost in despair and confusion, he’s expecting the Sirens to sing to him, to lure him in. Without a path in front of him and losing time by the seconds, the narrator is desperate for the Sirens to help pave the way, to give him a path to cross, even if it leads to his demise. Because in reality he has nothing, no path and no idea, simply lost in his struggle to grab on to time, and having the Sirens pave him a road would mean giving him something other than time to hold on to.