Compare and contrast Ulysses and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in their treatment of ageing and ambition

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Compare and contrast Ulysses and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in their treatment of ageing and ambition

        

        The title of Eliot’s poem initially suggests that it is not a traditional love poem at all. Eliot’s choice to use the initial “J” instead of a first name implies a sense of importance, however Prufrock is a connotation of a “prude” in a “frock” which pokes fun at the pompous nature of the name and implies a subliminal other meaning to the name.

Prufrock begins in the unpleasant modern world, which is comparable to “da Montefeltro” in Dante’s “Inferno” being trapped in hell; however Prufrock is fixed in a lonely, isolating city. This reflects Prufrock’s ambition, because he is insecure and feels as if he is trapped and cannot go anywhere.

Eliot’s imagery is extremely important in illustrating pieces of Prufrock’s personality. He uses images of the city being bleak and frightening. The image of “the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table” shows that Prufrock’s view of the world is that it is bleak and empty. This also illustrates Prufrock’s lack of ambition because it shows that he feels there is nothing good in the world worth trying for. Prufrock is afraid to speak to the women he sees because he thinks that he wont be able to say anything capable of making them become interested in him, and his overwhelming insecurity and fears wont let him overcome his shyness. Eliot clearly shows that Prufrock finds the women attractive, and it is indicated that they are young by “white” and “bare” and Eliot hints that Prufrock’s insecurities could be down to past rejections and situations, because he has “known them already.”

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Later in the poem Prufrock fears that he will “disturb the universe” which emphasises his overwhelming insecurity and lack of confidence. He convinces himself that there is enough time to not need to rush into action, however if he always tells himself this then he will run out of time. Here Eliot highlights the monotony of life, and how the passing of time is inescapable. He illustrates the tedious concerns of Prufrock by constantly asking questions related to the social world he appears to be hiding from. “Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, / Have the strength ...

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