always_succesful (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
always_succesful) wrote2012-03-11 08:59 pm
always_succesful) wrote2012-03-11 08:59 pm
Blog Week Nine
1. Reflection: Why do you think it is called "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock"? The first thing you might want to ask yourself is if it is ironic... Next, please comment on how Prufrock describes himself, the setting, and women.
I believe this poem is called “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” because it is ironic reflection of the actual events which in this poem. Alfred speaks multiple times of women but yet never mentions that he successfully meets one “In the room the women come and go.” His failure is most likely due to his under confidence in himself (described in the third paragraph here). As well as his procrastination, “There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” and “Time for you and time for me.”
The narrator describes the setting as a very grim and undesirable place to be. In the very first stanza, the Alfred says “When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table” portraying a strong image of a patient lying on a hospital bed waiting to be drugged before surgery. Giving one feeling of sadness due to the gloom of the hospital setting. The narrator goes on to describe the standard of living in the area “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells.” “One-night cheap hotels” brings to mind an image of a cheap run down hotel with prominent sexual debauchery. Just like one may see in the rough neighbourhood of Nevada. The “sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells” brings an image of a cheap dine in restaurant because of the sawdust covering the floor. Sawdust easily absorbs spill and other messes that the customers may cause and is very easy to clean up. This is done to cut down on cleaning time of the restaurant in an effort to save money.
Alfred describes himself as an individual with a low self esteem. He is very self conscious about his appearance “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair [They will say: “How his 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!”].” It is very apparent that he does not have a healthy self image of his physical self. His confidence is low “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be.” It is true that he was not meant to be Price Hamlet, but an individual with a healthy self esteem would treat himself as if he was.
The narrator seems to describe women as a higher being that he is not deserving of. This is in large part due to his confidence in him self, ““Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”” There is nowhere in this poem where the narrator actually speaks to a woman. The line “Talking of Michelangelo” presents imagery of women talking of this great artist and Alfred sitting in the corner of the room alone. As if he was comparing himself to Michelangelo. As if he needed to be a great figure to simply have a conversation with these women.
2. Looking ahead. Find out something about the story of Demeter and Persephone (you may also see them referred to as Ceres and Proserpine). What do you think are some universal themes in that myth?
The story of Demeter and Persephone is a Greek and Roman myth about Demeter who lost her daughter Persephone to the king of the underworld Hates. There are several universal themes throughout this myth including, but not limited to, motherly love and consequence. Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, loved her daughter very dearly. When Persephone was taken against her will by Hates, Demeter was distraught. In her state of sadness, Demeter neglected her duties as the god of harvest and climbed down to earth, neglected eating and searched for her missing daughter. Eventually, she went to Zeus for help. Zeus sent his son Mercury to resolve the situation with Hades. After some deliberation, a deal was made. Persephone would reside in the underworld for six months out of the year with Hades and the other half on top of mt Olympus with her mother. When Persephone returns to her mother in the spring, Demeter shows her happiness by the blooming of all the flowers, presenting new life and love. And when Persephone leaves Demeter becomes sad and ignores her duties. Plants die, the trees lose their leaves and winter begins. Demeter’s motherly love is so incredibly strong that when her daughter leaves, the only thing that on her mind is her daughter. All other things no longer matter. The myth of the mother and daughter ties in well with the universal theme of consequence. When an individual has responsibilities that are essential for the function of their company their working for, Family or even the individual them self. And they are distracted by some event, which causes them to take their attention away from their work. It usually results as a significant or detrimental blow to that group or individual. In this myth, it was that sadness of Persephone disappearance, which caused her to ignore her duty as the god of the harvest. Which, almost cause the starvation of humanity. If one holds a position in a company or business and he or she suddenly stop doing their work. Everyone else is affected by it. That individual slows down the business and causes others to set aside their duties to pick up the slack. Potentially resulting in a de promotion or discharge in their job. The same goes for the individual who neglects or stops altogether their duties around the family home. For example one who is not going to work, taking care of the children or their partner is causing an imbalance in that household. Their partner has to work much harder be able to provide their family with the same quality of life. Which may lead to resentment from their partner or potentially a divorce. Not a desirable outcome. It is the personal procrastination, which we as students know particularly well. Especially when it comes to doing the recommend homework and studying before writing a test. If we do not keep up with the homework, our result is almost always the same, a low grade on our test. Which also comes with the responsibility of covering all the missed material from the previous test and keeping on top of what one is currently learning.
I believe this poem is called “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” because it is ironic reflection of the actual events which in this poem. Alfred speaks multiple times of women but yet never mentions that he successfully meets one “In the room the women come and go.” His failure is most likely due to his under confidence in himself (described in the third paragraph here). As well as his procrastination, “There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet” and “Time for you and time for me.”
The narrator describes the setting as a very grim and undesirable place to be. In the very first stanza, the Alfred says “When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table” portraying a strong image of a patient lying on a hospital bed waiting to be drugged before surgery. Giving one feeling of sadness due to the gloom of the hospital setting. The narrator goes on to describe the standard of living in the area “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells.” “One-night cheap hotels” brings to mind an image of a cheap run down hotel with prominent sexual debauchery. Just like one may see in the rough neighbourhood of Nevada. The “sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells” brings an image of a cheap dine in restaurant because of the sawdust covering the floor. Sawdust easily absorbs spill and other messes that the customers may cause and is very easy to clean up. This is done to cut down on cleaning time of the restaurant in an effort to save money.
Alfred describes himself as an individual with a low self esteem. He is very self conscious about his appearance “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair [They will say: “How his 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!”].” It is very apparent that he does not have a healthy self image of his physical self. His confidence is low “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be.” It is true that he was not meant to be Price Hamlet, but an individual with a healthy self esteem would treat himself as if he was.
The narrator seems to describe women as a higher being that he is not deserving of. This is in large part due to his confidence in him self, ““Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”” There is nowhere in this poem where the narrator actually speaks to a woman. The line “Talking of Michelangelo” presents imagery of women talking of this great artist and Alfred sitting in the corner of the room alone. As if he was comparing himself to Michelangelo. As if he needed to be a great figure to simply have a conversation with these women.
2. Looking ahead. Find out something about the story of Demeter and Persephone (you may also see them referred to as Ceres and Proserpine). What do you think are some universal themes in that myth?
The story of Demeter and Persephone is a Greek and Roman myth about Demeter who lost her daughter Persephone to the king of the underworld Hates. There are several universal themes throughout this myth including, but not limited to, motherly love and consequence. Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, loved her daughter very dearly. When Persephone was taken against her will by Hates, Demeter was distraught. In her state of sadness, Demeter neglected her duties as the god of harvest and climbed down to earth, neglected eating and searched for her missing daughter. Eventually, she went to Zeus for help. Zeus sent his son Mercury to resolve the situation with Hades. After some deliberation, a deal was made. Persephone would reside in the underworld for six months out of the year with Hades and the other half on top of mt Olympus with her mother. When Persephone returns to her mother in the spring, Demeter shows her happiness by the blooming of all the flowers, presenting new life and love. And when Persephone leaves Demeter becomes sad and ignores her duties. Plants die, the trees lose their leaves and winter begins. Demeter’s motherly love is so incredibly strong that when her daughter leaves, the only thing that on her mind is her daughter. All other things no longer matter. The myth of the mother and daughter ties in well with the universal theme of consequence. When an individual has responsibilities that are essential for the function of their company their working for, Family or even the individual them self. And they are distracted by some event, which causes them to take their attention away from their work. It usually results as a significant or detrimental blow to that group or individual. In this myth, it was that sadness of Persephone disappearance, which caused her to ignore her duty as the god of the harvest. Which, almost cause the starvation of humanity. If one holds a position in a company or business and he or she suddenly stop doing their work. Everyone else is affected by it. That individual slows down the business and causes others to set aside their duties to pick up the slack. Potentially resulting in a de promotion or discharge in their job. The same goes for the individual who neglects or stops altogether their duties around the family home. For example one who is not going to work, taking care of the children or their partner is causing an imbalance in that household. Their partner has to work much harder be able to provide their family with the same quality of life. Which may lead to resentment from their partner or potentially a divorce. Not a desirable outcome. It is the personal procrastination, which we as students know particularly well. Especially when it comes to doing the recommend homework and studying before writing a test. If we do not keep up with the homework, our result is almost always the same, a low grade on our test. Which also comes with the responsibility of covering all the missed material from the previous test and keeping on top of what one is currently learning.
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