Deciding not to try, Prufrock questions whether his efforts would have been worthwhile. He excuses his fear by rationalizing that his speaking to the woman would not have achieved any real response. In line 110 of the poem Prufrock contrasts himself to Hamlet, a hero who hesitated but finally acted decisively. But Prufrock sees himself as more like Polonius, the old fool from the same play. Prufrock will retreat into a solitary, dignified old age. He has gone past dreams of romance into the sober but empty existence of a passionless old man. The poem is composed of Prufrock's own neurotic—if lyrical—associations. Indeed, over the course of the poem, he sets up analogies between himself and various familiar cultural figures, among them Hamlet. This establishes a connection with Hamlet's famous soliloquy ("To be or not to be?—That is the question"). Prufrock's doubt that he deserves the answer he desires from this woman transforms the poem into a kind of interior monologue or soliloquy in which "To be or not to be?" is for Prufrock "To be what?" and "What or who am I to ask this woman to marry me?"
Seen as simply the romantic agonizing of a young man (Eliot was eighteen when he began the poem) over a woman he loves, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" would have a distinctly limited appeal. However, the poem moves from this specific situation to explore the peculiarly Modernist alienation of the individual in society to a point where internal emotional alienation occurs and a soliloquy in which a man speaks as if alone can begin, "Let us go then, you and I...."
The Lady of Shalot" tells the story of a woman who lives in a tower in Shalott, which is an island on a river that runs, along with the road beside it, to Camelot, the setting of the legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Every day, the woman weaves a tapestry picture of the landscape that is visible from her window, including Camelot. There is, however, a curse on her; the woman does not know the cause of the curse, but she knows that she cannot look directly out of the window, so she views the subjects of her artwork through a mirror that is beside her. The woman is happy to weave, but is tired of looking at life only as a reflection. One day, Sir Lancelot rides by, looking bold and handsome in his shining armor, and singing. The woman goes to the window to look directly out of it, and the moment she does, she knows that the curse is upon her. So she leaves the tower, finds a boat at the side of the river, writes "The Lady of Shalott" on the side of the boat, and floats off down the river toward Camelot. As she drifts along, singing and observing all of the sights that were forbidden to her before, she dies. The boat floats past Camelot, and all of the knights make the sign of the cross upon seeing a corpse go by, but Lancelot, seeing her for the first time, notes, "She has a lovely face."
In D.H. Lawrence’s “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter,” Mabel “did not share the same life as her brothers”. Mabel Pervin was not close to her brothers, because there
were personal and physical separations. Mabel was a plain, uninteresting woman. She seldom showed emotion on her face. In fact her face usually remained impassive and
unchanged. Her brothers could be described as three handsome and well-spoken men. Mabel was independent, having taken care of the house for ten years without a
servant. Even though they depended upon her, they seemed to have control over her. The Pervin brothers “did not care about anything”. They were poised and felt secure about themselves. Her brothers felt superior to her. “They had talked at her and round her for so many years, that she hardly heard them at all”. She would either give a neutral response to her brothers, or remain quiet when they talked to her. Instead of giving her encouragement, they teased her. This treatment could have led to her insecurity. They would tease her about becoming a maid or about her “bulldog” face. Her brothers were full of energy and very talkative. Mabel also seemed to be alone in the world. Unlike her brothers who had many companions, she had had no friends of her own sex. Sometimes it seemed that Mabel wanted to escape her life. One place Mabel felt secure and immune from the world was at her mother’s grave. “There she always felt secure, as if no one could see her”. Mabel was extremely devoted to her deceased parents, especially her mother. She was mindless and persistent. At the graveside, she had many different feelings. She seemed to be coming nearer to her own glorification. Also she would become remote and intent. She seemed to feel contact with the world that mother had lived. Her brothers, however, were the opposite of her. The memory of their parents faded away in their minds. They never spoke or showed emotion dealing with their parents. They had left the past behind them and waited for the future would bring. Mabel’s devotion led to an immense personal separation between the Pervin brothers and Mable. Mainly, because Mabel wanted to live her life just like her mother did, and her brothers had moved on with theirs. After her mother died, she feels like there is nothing
to live for. Her mother was the love and joy in her life; without her, she is lost. All she has left is her house, which she is extremely proud of, and her brother, which she seems not to care for. She decides to release herself from her troubles by drowning herself in a pond. Dr. Fergusson, sees her and tries to save her life. This pond is a strong symbol with many meanings. It is a start of a new experience, and a change of two people’s lives. In a nutshell this story is about Mabel Pervin and her three brothers who are left with debts to pay after their father’s death. Once the horses are sold Mabel’s brothers decide where their lives would lead them and advice her to seek the home of her sister. Realizing their rejection and acknowledging an uncertain future, she visits the graves of her mother and father. Feeling depressed and helpless, Mabel walks into a mucky pond not cognizant of Jack Fergusson’s presence. Fighting his fear of water, Jack saves Mabel from an attempted suicide and has become a part of Mabel’s plan to remain where she wants to be. She decides to take advantage of the situation by expressing her love and convincing Jack that he loves her as well. Mabel’s love, in this story by D.H. Lawrence, is her escape from having to leave her town and live with her sister in a less desirable fashion. She uses love as a means of obtaining the comfortable lifestyle that she once lived. She can once again have luxuries in life now that she will be marrying a doctor.
All three poems whether it be The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, The Lady of Shalot by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, or The Horse Dealers Daughter by D.H. Lawrence all of these poems seem to have a single theme running through them and that is love. Where in The love song the man cannot proclaim his love to his lady love on the second hand in Lady of Shalot, the lover dies in the process of finding her Camelot without caring for the curse and, even though after her death, finally meets him, while in the third poem Mabel’s works out her “plan” and uses love as a tool to obtain the luxuries of life which had been finished in her life. She proclaimed her love to her rescuer Jack Fergusson and by the end of the poem is ready to start a new life. The subject “Love” is discussed by each of these poets, exploring completely different sides of Love, yet are united by the same subject.
BIBLOGRAPHY
Frye, Northrop, T. S. Eliot, Oliver and Boyd, 1963.
Grant, Michael, ed., T.S. Eliot: The Critical Heritage, Routledge, 1982.
Kenner, Hugh, The Invisible Poet: T.S. Eliot, McDowell, Oblinsky, 1959.
Jump, John D., Tennyson: "In Memoriam," "Maud," and Other Poems, J. A. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1974, pp. vii—xx.
Noyes, Arthur, "Tennyson and Some Recent Critics," in Some Aspects of Modern Poetry, Hodder & Stoughton., 1924, pp. 133-76.
Saintsbury, George, "Tennyson," in Corrected Impressions: Essays on Victorian Writers, Dodd Mead & Company, pp. 21-30.
Lawrence, D.H. . The Horse Dealer’s Daughter. The Bedford Introduction to Literature:
Reading, Thinking, and Writing. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1999. 1795-1860.