The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

When I first looked at the title I was expecting of course another poem speaking of the great wonders of love but I was completely wrong. This poem takes a completely different route; a route that tells the story of those who suffer from the curse of wanting love but always being afraid of rejection and the pain that love will bring. It is well known from the very beginning that J. Alfred Prufrock loves women just by the way he describes the women around him as they "come and go/Talking of Michelangelo" (L 13-14)   As they come he admires and as they leave he admires making sure never to approach them no matter how much he wishes he could.  As that wish becomes desire the truth behind this poem begins to unravel.  Why is it that J. Alfred Prufrock cannot find the words to say or find the courage to talk to at least one woman that catches his eye?  The reason is of course the fear of rejection and being mocked as he gives his heart the opportunity to open up and really feel. As the poem continues we come to see that this fear and feeling of being inadequate is haunting Prufrock and has become a cycle that no matter how hard he tries to break free from he just can’t. He can wish and desire to have a woman to love but this dark cycle like the dark lonely streets he describes shall forever consume him and be his life.  

Preludes

It's amazing to see how another looks at life and daily routine.  How many times do people go about their daily lives never thinking about the things that are left behind like the smoke from a cigar or the newspapers that were being read thorough out the day?  All this seems like simple little things that have no meaning yet they consume our daily lives to the point where we can't go a day without them. It's as if our whole world will come tumbling down around us if we miss one single thing like our simple morning coffee.  I also love how Eliot describes a person awakening scratching their head as if trying to remember the day before and what they need to do for the day but as we all know we never forget our everyday routine and our world will continue to go round and round just like it does everyday.

Who's Who

W.H. Auden's Who's Who is pure genius and truth.  How many times do we run across written biographies of the great people of the past and yet we are left to wonder what about their life was left out and what was given more attention.  W.H. Auden says,"What were the struggles of his youth,/what acts Made him the greatest figure of his day" (Line 3-4) We always hear about the common hardships of growing up as a poor child or having the disapproval of a parent but we have to wonder if that is what the great people of yesterday considered to be their hardship.  If we were to have the chance to talk to such a person would we get the same answers we read about or would we get something completely different. This where the title is key and comes into play because the entire poem is the big question.  Who is this great person that we know of and not just who are they as in what they have achieved but who are they really? Are they just this intelligent mind that knows nothing else but what they do or is there more?

The Harlem Dancer

"The Harlem Dancer" is a very different yet beautiful and unique poem.  The poem begins with setting a scene within the streets of Harlem.  The street is filled with laughing youth and a dancer who is giving quite the performance yet something about the dancer is different.  The author describes her as graceful and calm.  Both the boys and girls watched her every move as she danced and sang a beautiful melody.  They could not seem to get enough and yet the young dancer seemed distant. "but looking at her falsely-smiling face/I knew her self was not in that strange place." (L 13-14)  Many times young kids and adults are seen only for where they come from and it is assumed that they will be nothing greater and I feel that this is exactly what is being said in this poem.  The young girl is seen only as this amazing dancer yet only one is able to see that this dancer is not happy with being seen as nothing more than a performer or as an object for other youth to watch as some sort of interesting object.  Her false smile gives away that there is so much more to her than what is present on that street and that unfortunately many will never get to see.

"Whether a dove or seagull lighted there

This poem relates so much innocence with the good as well as fear of not knowing with the bad.  The poem begins with the line, "Whether a dove or seagull lighted there/I cannot tell"  How many times do we find ourselves weighing our options wondering which option is not only the best but the right way to go?  As we grow and go on with life we find ourselves in many tough situations having to make a decision on which way to go. We ask ourselves over and over again which way is the right way or is it okay if I choose this path for today.  In most cases we find ourselves faced with such decisions and contemplation when it comes to non other than love.  Everyone has that one experience with love where you must decide whether this love is right or wrong.This poem expresses such contemplating especially when the author states, "And I must know before I go away/If for today/The weather of our love is wild or fair/Or ill or well." When the time comes to accept whether the love we share with another is the worth holding on to or whether it is time to let it become just a beautiful memory we find ourselves second guessing at that moment what is right or wrong good or bad.  In that moment all that is left is to discover if holding on for just one more night will make a difference as you part ways the next morning.

"The Ship of Death"

D.H. Lawrence asks on of the greatest questions through out this entire poem.  "Have you built your ship of death. O have you?"  I believe that with this question Lawrence was not just writing a poem but also asking his readers if they are prepared for when they must leave the world. As humans we all try to live life to the fullest never missing the great opportunities that are given to us yet do any of us prepare for the reality that one day we will all be gone. "O build your ship of death, for you will need it." We should, yes, always live life to the fullest but in doing so we must be ready to enter the dark oblivion of no longer being with our loved ones.  We must spend our time doing the things we love and being the best that we can be so that we have no regrets as we do leave this beautiful world. We must be ready to enter that tiny shade of light and not lose ourselves within the darkness of death as Lawrence so mentions through out the entire poem, so I ask the same question that Lawrence asks us have we built our ship of death yet and if we haven't will we ever build it before it is to late.

"Why Do You Feel Differently"

Gertrude Stein really points an issue that has existed from past to present. We as humans always want bigger and better things whether it be the bigger turkey, as mentioned in the poem, or wanting to be treated like the person on the other side of the block. It's a natural desire to never be satisfied with what we have but that doesn't make it alright.  The example that Stein uses to express this is a perfect fit.  She says, "To Be/No Please/To Be/They can please....." She takes a double standard of a wife always having to please a husband that will never be satisfied.  Again the question arises why is everything a wife can do never enough? I believe that Stein was trying to open our eyes with this poem and help us see that having desires can be great but it can also work against us.  If our desires begin to overtake our mind and body we will always want what we shouldn't and never appreciate what we do have.