Do I Dare Respond Like Prufrock?
Poet Ezra Pound stated that The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, "... is a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails, and it would be false art to make it end on a note of triumph ..." Please respond and react to this excerpt from his review of the poem; furthermore, what aspects of the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and character, Prufrock, "speak" to you? Why? How? Please use quotations from the poem to defend your analysis and explication.
posted by Greg T at Sunday, April 05, 2009
32 Comments:
I believe that Erza is completely correct in saying that Prufrock is a failure. In line 38 he says “Do I dare”, he is questioning if he has enough courage to go and talk to the girls that are in the room that he is in. I believe that this is where I most connected to Prufrock because I have often caught myself being afraid to go talk to a group of people because I am afraid of what they are going to think of me. It can be a very scary thing knowing that when you walk in everyone there is going to have a first impression made on them that is very hard to change. I think that knowing that Prufrock was afraid of making the wrong first impression.
I agree with Ezra in that Eliot’s poem portrays a man whom people would consider a failure. I believe Ezra was also correct in claiming that it would be “false art” for the poem to have a positive ending because the Eliot’s tone throughout his writing was very negative and without hope or happiness. The poem wouldn’t have flowed as smoothly if the ending had a sudden change in the attitude.
It seems as though Prufrock and myself have a lot in common as far as being extremely self-conscious and overly concerned about what other people think. Lines 32-33 read “And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions…” and these lines I really think capture who I am because I tend to over-think everything before I do or say something. I second-guess myself a lot, and I believe this is something Prufrock does very often, and this causes him to abandon opportunities, making him seem as though he is a failure.
Ezra has a good point. When Elliot states that "Do I dare" it makes me think that T.S. Elliot is trying to show everybody that it isn't right to asume the worst in every situation. In this poem it describes what he thinks that the women will judge him right away as he enters the room. When Elliot writes, “And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions…” tells the readers that Alfred Prufrock wishes that he had the courage to step into a room full of women and start to talk to them.
I agree with what Erza Pound stated about how Prufrock is in fact a failure. Throughout the entire poem, there was a sense of negativity on display, and to try and counteract that negativity with a triumphant ending, doesn't leave the reader assured. In lines 73-74 the poem reads, "I should have been a pair of ragged claws, Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." This portrays how Prufrock's self confidence has been obliterated. He compares him to a creature from the sea who does nothing more than crawl upon the ground, unnoticed. This is the stanza I most often find myself connecting to when I read this poem by T.S. Eliot. At times, I get really down on myself and think that I am worthless. I have similar feelings to Prufrock for the fact that I just want to disappear and isolate myself from society.
I disagree with Ezra Pound's bold statement that Prufrock's piece of literature was a failure. While the overall vibe that i was feeling during my exploration of the text was a very negative/depressing one, that is exactly what made the poem so successful. In line 38 he says “Do I dare”, showing the vulnerable side of human beings. The character in the poem struggled with many similar problems that all of us encounter throughout our daily lives. This allowed me make a deeper connection with the poem's message. Much more than what is typically atainable in a piece of literature that is afraid to present the material in different ways.
i agree with Erza in stating that Prufrock is a failure, at least in the aspect of his love life. on page 664 line 39 its is said " Time to turn back and decend the stair." to me this is a person with no self confidence. it appeared to me that for a moment he had courage and made it up the stairs but when he saw the ladies he turned back and ran down the stairs to hide and not deal with his problems. also on line 111 where he states "No! i am not prince hamlet nor was i ment to be." this just shows that he has no confidence. so people are not ment to be anything but thats were working hard come in. You have to work for what you want, and to me it seemed Prufrock didnt care and wasn't willing to work at all.
In my opinion Ezra is right, because he is always down on himself, and never puts himself out there, which keeps him away from ending the poem with triumph. He says "[They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”]," which shows how afraid he is of what other people think about him. This fear makes him a failure because he can never can over come his fear of peoples reaction to him. I can kind of realate to Prufrock, because it is hard to over come your fear of other peoples reaction but he has too extreme of a fear of other people it is hard for me to totally relate to him.
I too agree with Ezra Pound's review of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock because it is indefinitely a failure on so many levels. The words, "I should have..." "Do I dare..." and similar phrases appear a number of times throughout the entire poem. This would suggest that this man has no self confidence and will not accomplish much with his constant self-loathing mind-set. The negativity of this poem is so overwhelming that it seems as though nothing can make it end on a good note. But on the contrary, if it were to have ended on a good note, the poem would not be nearly as interesting to read. I believe that we can all relate to J. Alfred Prufrock in the sense of a lack of self assurance. We all create scenarios in our heads considering what the outcomes of certain actions could be, and that alone could make it so we don’t do anything at all and then that specific opportunity is lost.
Ezra is correct when she says taht the love song is a portrait of failure becasue the whole entire poem is basically talking about Prufrocks insecurities and how he will get rejected by all the women. The way he ended the peom is clear proof that it is a failure becasue he talk about us coming back to reality and drowning in it. This spoke to me becasue i often find myself dosing off and dreaming of a perfect life when i am awakened by a shock from the outside world and realize that i was living in a dream. Prufrock's life is described as a lonely and monotonais life. He basically says that there is no excitement or adventure when he describes his life as a butt end of a cigarett and a dull cup of coffee. All of these things suggest that his life basically is a failure and that is the reason why he will always get rejected by women. Something in the poem that just struck my curiosity was the fact that Prufrock never tells you where exactly he is. This could mean that he is not only lonely in certain clubs or restaurants or parties but that he feels lonely, rejected, and very selfconcious where ever he goes.
The poet, Ezra Pound is correct as far as Prufrock being a failier repeatedly, this is easily supported if one just reads the peopm and notices the repeated situations where Prufrock over thinks, under estimates, and then finally fails. The poem being false art to make it end on a triumphant note could be argued either way i think, most people who belive things like the silver lining and happily ever after would say that the peom ending on a good note is what stories are all about, but a group of people who look at life for what it is and understand there is not always a happy ending would say, the ending should be true to the wierd awquardness Prufrock was trying to persway.
I agree with Ezra when she states that Prudfrock is a failure. However, that is exactly the way that Eliot intended him to be. This is a different kind of love story. It is what happens when the individual doesn't go for it. Due to a lack of self confidence or something. It is supposed to be pathetic. Prudfrock is just a character made up by Eliot to make a point. I still don't quite understand much of the poem, but, do agree that it is supposed to be a failure and agree with Ezra for saying so.
I agree with Ezra Pound that the THe Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock is a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails, and it would be false art to make it end on a note of triumph. Its a weird and sort of mysterious love story on in which the main character never really tells you were he is, but also how he goes after the point of firdst impressions and ideas similar. It shows a mans struggle with self confidence and though it shows his failure it teaches him and the reader more about themselves.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, is a great piece of literature that exposes what we all struggle with. In the average love song or movie, the beautiful girl is rescued by her prince and they live happily ever after. Then, reality sets in and we live up to those expectations. We are all human and there is no such thing as a perfect relationship (unlike what some advertise). What if you wanted to be someone's prince but they did not want you to be; "I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be...at times, the Fool" (666). Rather than moving on with his life, he cuts himself down, and looses confidence; ""Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"...With a bald spot in the middle of my hair- (They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!")" (664). He is not what Pound says "is a portrait of failure" in my opinion because he is just overcome by the pressures that we all deal with. The outcome might be different then others would make of it.
I feel ezra is way off for saying this. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and his life could have been beautiful to someone else. Also, i dont see how someones life can be a failure. Everyone does something that can change someones life and that makes it a succesful life. Just because you don't have self confidense doesn't mean you are a failure. Everyone has times where they feel like they are not good enough or they are different then other people but that doesn't make them a failure! Just beacause you think you are a failure doesn't make you a failure.
Ezra's words say to me that to end on a good nite is wrong because something bad or unexpected will always happen. Life is full of disasters and is never perfect. Something will always be there to ruin your day. The poem as a whole speaks to me when Ezra says “And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions…”. I feel like I am a very indecisive person and when I make a decsion it is usually one that I want to take back and redo or revise. Ezra's words are a better way of saying the things that I might think in my head.
Erza is right in her opinion that this poem would contradict itself if it ended happy. The poem is illustrating a facet of humanity, the insecure and unsuccessful part. In order for this poem to do that it can't end well for Prufrock, otherwise its cheating the reader of a lesson in human behavior.
The line or stanza where T.S. Elliot has a recurring motif of "Time" is something I can relate to. It says: "There will be Time, There will be Time". This is after Prufrock wonders "do I dare?" and then chickens out of talking to the ladies. He then has the "there will be Time" line to show that he'll have other opportunities to talk to the ladies. Essentially its procrastinating, because he's now getting old and if he doesn't talk to any ladies he'll die without a mate. I can at least relate to the procrastinating, I'm doing it now. :)
In the Poem, It describes how he is a man that is really shy and is afaid to talk to the people around him. he describes in the blog that he is a "portrait of faliure" which means that he is has a low self-esteem. and the him trying to work himself up to talk to anyone would be "false". meaning not him. he is just a man that is trying to fit in and be as outgoing as teh younder men but doesnt seem to be getting far because of how shy he is. which is some cases sounds like The Great Gasby. Gasby who was shot down by Dasiy and tried to get where he thought he should be in her eyes. be because he was so shot down he could never get up the couage to taslk to anyone and ended up being shy and alone.
In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Ezra is portrayed as a complete failure who doesn't have any confidence in himself. In lines 111-119 it says, "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord...Almost, at times, the Fool." Ezra doesn't believe that he can create a name for himself by saying he serves others even when he knows he will make a fool of himself. I dont like Ezras attitude because he doesnt seem to think that he can do anything positive by himself so he lowers his standardsand self confidence.
I agree because if Prufrock were to finally talk to the women at the end it wouldn't be believeable. Prufrock is the type of character that doesn't take advantage of opportunity but let's it pass him by. Prufrock speaks to me by mimicking exact thoughts that plagues everyone. The feeling that being yourself isn't good enough is universal or the feeling that you might misunderstand someone and make you feel inadequate about it. Prufrock exhibits this when he thinks the women will say "that's not what I meant at all, that's not it at all."
Pound's statement makes complete sense to me. The end quotation is "Till human voices wake us, and we drown." This quote show that prufrock doesn't even care if he dies. He has nothing to live for and he explains that throughout the poem. To end heroically would have thrown off the whole story and make it something that it was not. Prufrock is a failure and knows it throughout the story and the end line shows that he doesn't have anything to really live for.
I agree with the statement that Ezra made about how it would be a false art if the poem ended on a triumphant note. The who poem was sad and unhappy and it would definitely condtradict itself if it just had a happy ending. The line "Do i dare" relates to me in that I think everyone has doubts about themselves and everyone second guesses their choices. Profrock is just a very extreme version of that.
Prufrock has many insecurities that show, and I would go as far as to say hes a failure. I think Ezra makes a good point in calling the poem "a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails." The tone of the poem is even bland as the story of a character who is overly self conscious recites. Everyone has poor qualities but Prufrock feels like he has more than others
and he has to make up for them by being perfect. He has a hard time and reveals he wishes he could step into a room full of women and talk to them. The mans mental behavior is what ultimatley leads to his failure.
The quote that speaks to me is "I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." The reason that this quote is important is because it explains how Prufrock feels he should live his life. He should live it as a hermit with no interaction with any other people. A hero doesn't do this but a failure does. It tells how he doesn't want to be with people but he wants to be with himself. The quote sums up what he wants to be and how he wants to live his life.
Doonster= Joe Smith
"I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas." I think this quote supports what Ezra is saying about a portrait of failure. Prufrock thinks he is worthless and shouldn't even be alive. I think anybody who reads the beginning of this poem will have a very negative outlook because its about a guy who is a failure.
I think that Ezra is right in that Eliot's poem describes a failure. prufrock seems to doubt himself throughout the poem,"time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair..." hes worried about what the women will think. also,"and should i then presume? and how should i begin?" after talking about a women he seems so unsure of himself and has little confidence. i can relate to prufrocks failure in this way because i tend to be unsure of myself and what im going to end up doing in life. prufrock and i are the same in that we need to step up and have confidence.
Ezra was just in saying that Prufrock is a failure. The attitude of the poem is negative, leaving the reader not sure that he really isn't a failure. When he talks about how he is not the Prince of Hamlet it kinda proves Ezra's point.... he has no faith or confidence in himself, and this attitude in the end does make him a failure.
Pound makes Prufrock a failure, and creates this lowly character that seems to never fully get to what he wants. He consistently is unsure of himself and to let him "get away" with being successful in search would render his entire poem moot, as the majority of the poem is to set him up as this failure of a man.
I think Prufrock in this poem demonstrates modern liturature in a very good way. It definately wasn't about greatness or glory and infact was about an epic fail. The narrorator of the poem is constantly second guessing himself and his abilities. On line 38 he repeats "Do I dare, Do I dare" wondering if he should go talk to women. He decides that he should not because they will laugh at his expense. He even wonders if he would regret this failure later in his life.
Ezra Pound hit the nail right on the head by saying that The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, "... is a portrait of failure, or of a character which fails, and it would be false art to make it end on a note of triumph ..." because it is about a man that doesn't even give himself a shot because he already knows that he will fail. He convinces himself that no matter what he does or how hard he tries, he won't be good enough so since he didn't even give himself a shot, and without trying he couldn't know for sure, so he failed by not trying. I can relate to Prufrock because he over thought his situation and made it worse than it had been if he had just gone for it.
I believe that Prufrock is a failure for the main reason that he BELIEVES he is a loser. If you believe that you are successful then that is all that matters in life. But once you start doubting yourself you become what you are. I believe that this poem really helped demonstrate that you are what you believe you are. If you are happy and that is what you want to be then you are successful. But if you are like Prufrock and you feel like you aren't even an animal, you are the claws he walks on "I should have been a pair of ragged claws, Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." then you should be considered a failure. I feel as if Ezra pound hit this right on the head.
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