Beware do not read this poem meaning

Modernism And Imagism As Its Byproduct: Ezra Pound And T.S. Eliot As The Most Vivid Representatives Of Same

American Landscape, c. 1930. Charles Sheeler. Oil on canvas, 24 x 31 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

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“Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during a moment.”

—Carl Sandburg, “Poetry Considered”

MODERN POETRY

The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

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LITERARY H ISTORY

Symbolist and Imagist Poetry

PHOTOGRAPHERS CAPTURE MOMENTS in time. Painters depict visual ideas through arrangements of colors and shapes. What methods allow writers to use words as someone else might use a camera or a paintbrush? In the beginning of the modern age, a group of poets called the Imagists developed new, influential techniques for presenting visual impressions. Much of their inspiration came from the Symbolists, across the Atlantic Ocean, in France.

The Symbolist Foundation The avant-garde, or experimental, Symbolist move- ment in Paris dominated French poetry and art in the late 1800s and inspired the Imagists. Symbolist poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Verlaine reacted against Realism by focusing their attention inward on moods and sensations. These poets believed that direct explanation could not capture emotion. They sought access to the inner workings of the mind through sug- gestion, metaphor, and symbols. The Symbolists took inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe, whose work is rich in symbolism.

“No good poetry is ever written in a manner twenty years old, for to write in such a manner shows conclusively that the writer thinks from books, convention and cliché, and not from life.”

—Ezra Pound “A Retrospect”

The American Imagists Contrasting with the Symbolists’ abstract, atmo- spheric poetry, the Imagists presented a concrete, tangible image that appeared frozen in time. “Essentially, it is a moment of revealed truth,” wrote critic William Pratt on Imagism. In that sense, the

Imagist method is similar to photography. Beyond that, however, Imagist poetry explores the effect of the image on an observer at a precise moment.

“In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound (see page 654) is a classic example of an Imagist poem. Pound responded to the sight of faces in a train station. Pound deleted words to condense a first draft of thirty lines into two lines of fourteen words and two striking images. He believed that the poet should “use no superfluous word, no adjective which does not reveal something.” He found a model for this intense com- pression in Asian poetry, such as in this haiku (three lines, seventeen syllables, in the original) by Japanese poet Matsuo Basho:

On a dead limb squats a crow– Autumn night. (Lucien Stryk translation)

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The Flatiron Building, Evening, from Camera Work, April, 1906. Edward Steichen.

RÈunion des MusÈes Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

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LITERARY HISTORY 651

In 1912 Pound submitted three poems by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) to Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. One of the published poems was “Oread” (following). In Greek mythology, the Oreads were nymphs, minor female divinities of nature, from the mountains. Notice the irregular, jagged look of the lines and how the line breaks are determined by the poet’s sense of imagery.

Whirl up, sea— Whirl your pointed pines, Splash your great pines On our rocks. Hurl your green over us— Cover us with your pools of fir.

H.D. and Amy Lowell were central figures in the Imagist movement. At a poetry reading, Lowell reportedly said to her audience, “Well, clap or hiss, I don’t care which, but . . . do something!” Such bold statements energized American poetry, which often displays the Imagist method of compressing an emo- tion or idea into a sharply observed image.

Imagist Principles The Imagists issued manifestos, or public declarations on their poetic principles. The following are sample manifestos in the style of those issued:

• The image is the essence, the raw material, of poetry.

• Poetry should be expressed in brief, clear, concrete language that forms precise images.

• These images should instantly convey to the reader the poem’s meaning and emotion.

• The language of these poetic images should sound like simple speech—not be made up of predictable rhythms and rhymes but of freer, more-modern verse forms.

• Topics for poems need not be high-minded or “poetic.” No topic is unsuitable for a poem.

Sudden Rain Shower on Ohashi Bridge, from One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, 1850. Ando Hiroshige. Woodblock print. Musée des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris. Viewing the Art: This wood-block print recalls the style of Japanese haiku masters such as Basho. What does this print have in common with Imagism?

Literary History For more about Symbolist and Imagist poetry, go to www.glencoe.com.

RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY

1. Why did the Symbolist poets refrain from directly explaining their themes?

2. What did the Imagists want to eliminate from poetry? Why?

3. What type of images does H.D. create in “Oread”? What impressions and associations do they evoke?

4. Compare and contrast the ways in which the poems on these two pages reflect the themes of Imagist poets. Which do you find most interesting?

Ando Hiroshige/Art Resource, NY

• Compare and contrast authors’ messages. • Analyze historical context. • Evaluate argument.

OBJECTIVES

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David Lees/CORBIS

BEFORE YOU READ

In a Station of the Metro and A Pact

MEET EZRA POUND

Though Ezra Pound’s literary accomplish-ments were immense, many hated him. As his friend and protégé William Carlos Williams wrote, “Pound is a fine fellow, but not one person in a thousand likes him, and a great many people detest him.” Nevertheless, T. S. Eliot claimed that Pound was “more responsible for the twentieth-century revolution in poetry than [was] any other individual.”

Imagism Pound was born in a small town in Idaho, but two years later his family moved east. When he was still young, he determined that “at thirty [he] would know more about poetry than any living man.” Pound entered the University of Pennsylvania at age fifteen but completed his undergraduate education at Hamilton College. As a student, he immersed himself in the Latin, Greek, and French classics.

“I have weathered the storm, I have beaten out my exile.”

—Ezra Pound, “The Rest”

After receiving his master’s degree in 1906, Pound briefly taught languages at a small Presbyterian college in Indiana. His eccentric manner did not fit well with the school’s character, and, at the age of 23, Pound left for Europe. He settled first in London, then Paris, and finally in Italy. There he wrote poetry and criticism and translated verse from nine languages. He also served as an overseas editor for Poetry magazine—a position he used to nurture the careers of Robert Frost and T. S. Eliot, among others. In 1912, Pound helped establish Imagism’s manifesto. It called for “direct treatment of the ‘thing’” and the use of “the language of common speech, but . . . always the exact word.”

A Complex Writer Though Pound declared that writers should “Make it new!” he did not believe in newness for its own sake and relied heavily on the literature of the past. In The Cantos, his longest and best-known work, Pound combined materials from different cultures and languages, historical texts, and newspaper articles. The Cantos is an extremely complex work, notorious for its diffi- culty and uneven quality.

Politics, Prison, and Exile During World War II, Pound supported Fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and made radio broadcasts openly criti- cizing the United States and the efforts of the Allies in the war. After Italy fell, Pound spent six months as a prisoner of war near Pisa. Here he wrote The Pisan Cantos, generally considered the greatest section of his long work.

After being declared mentally unfit to stand trial for treason, Pound was sent to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the criminally insane in Washington, D.C. He spent the next twelve years at the hospital, after which the charges against him were dropped. Pound then left the United States, returning to Italy, where he stayed until his death in Venice in 1972.

Ezra Pound was born in 1885 and died in 1972.

Author Search For more about Ezra Pound, go to www.glencoe.com.

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LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW

EZRA POUND 653

Connecting to the Poems Have you ever experienced a moment in which an image, a sound, or an idea grabbed your attention and changed how you saw the world? This is what the speaker in each of the following poems experiences. Think about the following questions:

• Have you ever looked at something that you see every day as if for the first time? Explain.

• How can striking images change the way we think about mundane aspects of the world?

Building Background “In a Station of the Metro” and “A Pact” were originally published together in Poetry in 1916. Pound was impressed with the brief but evocative Japanese haiku form (see Literary Terms Handbook, p. R1). After experiencing the moment that inspired “In a Station of the Metro,” Pound composed a thirty-line poem. He destroyed this first attempt, calling it a work “of second intensity.” After two other tries, he created a short, haiku- like poem with a single powerful image.

Setting Purposes for Reading Big Idea New Poetics As you read, notice how Pound employs free verse and the rules of Imagism in his work.

Literary Element Imagery Imagery is the “word pictures” that writers create to make their subject more vivid or to evoke an emotional response in the reader. In creating effective images, writ- ers use sensory details, or descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five sense: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. As you read the poems, examine how Pound uses imagery to heighten the effect of his words.

• See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R9.

Reading Strategy Questioning Questioning is asking yourself regularly whether you’ve understood what you have read. In an Imagist poem such as “In a Station of the Metro,” it is impor- tant to use questioning to slow down your reading in order to fully understand the poet’s meaning.

Reading Tip: Taking Notes As you read “In a Station of the Metro” and “A Pact,” note in a double-entry jour- nal any questions that occur to you.

Vocabulary

apparition (aṕ ə rish� ən) n. a ghostlike or nearly invisible appearance; p. 654 Those who saw the shadowy apparition in the cemetery believed it was a ghost.

bough (bou) n. tree branch; p. 654 The baby bird clung to the bough as it waited for food.

detest (di test�) v. to greatly dislike or loathe; p. 654 I have detested television ever since my favorite show was canceled.

sap (sap) n. a watery source of nutrients that flows through a plant’s circulatory system; p. 654 I decided never to park under a tree again after finding my car covered in sap.

commerce (kom� ərs) n. exchange of ideas and opinions; p. 654 Through lively debate and com- merce, the two opposing political sides were able to reach an agreement.

Vocabulary Tip: Context Clues When you look at the words and sentences surrounding a new or unfamiliar word to define it, you are using context clues. Interactive Literary Elements

Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com.

AnswersQuestions How does Pound feel about Walt Whitman?

In studying this selection, you will focus on the following:

• analyzing literary periods • monitoring comprehension with questioning • analyzing imagery

OBJECTIVES

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1 The Metro refers to the Paris subway.

New Poetics What does line 6 suggest about Pound’s understanding of Walt Whitman’s rela- tionship to modern poetry?

Big Idea

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apparition (aṕ ə rish ən) n. a ghostlike or nearly invis- ible appearance bough (bou) n. tree branch

Vocabulary

detest (di test) v. to greatly dislike or loathe sap (sap) n. a watery source of nutrients that flows through a plant’s circulatory system commerce (kom ərs) n. exchange of ideas and opinions

Vocabulary

I make a pact with you, Walt Whitman— I have detested you long enough. I come to you as a grown child Who has had a pig-headed father; 5 I am old enough now to make friends. It was you that broke the new wood, Now is a time for carving. We have one sap and one root— Let there be commerce between us.

The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ezra Pound

Ezra Pound

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EZRA POUND 655

AFTER YOU READ

Respond 1. Which of these poems do you think reveals more

about the poet? Explain.

Recall and Interpret 2. (a)In the first line of “In a Station of the Metro,”

what word does the speaker use to describe how the faces look to him? (b)What might that word suggest about the faces?

3. (a)In the second line, to what image does the speaker compare the faces? (b)From this image, what can you infer about the speaker’s feelings?

4. (a)In “A Pact,” to whom is the poem addressed? In what way have the speaker’s feelings changed about that person? (b)What might be the reason?

5. (a)What is the extended metaphor used in the last four lines of “A Pact”? (b)What idea do you think the speaker expresses in these lines?

Analyze and Evaluate 6. Pound once wrote, “The image is the poet’s

pigment.” How is “In a Station of the Metro” like a painting? Explain.

7. (a)Briefly describe the most important differences in tone, form, and content of these two poems. (b)Which poem seems more compelling? Explain.

Connect 8. Big Idea New Poetics How do these poems

embody the values and stylistic goals of Modernism and Imagism?

RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY

Literary Element Imagery While most of the imagery in literature appeals to the sense of sight, imagery can appeal to all five senses. Sometimes the same image will involve more than a single sense. For example, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (page 244) includes the following line: “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple cur- tain.” In this line, Poe appeals to the senses of touch, hearing, and sight.

1. Which senses does Pound appeal to in “In a Station of the Metro”?

2. Identify one image from “A Pact” that appeals to the sense of sight.

Writing About Literature Compare and Contrast Tone Write a brief essay in which you compare and contrast the tones of “In a Station of the Metro” and “A Pact.” Consider how word choice and imagery work together to create a specific tone for each poem. You might want to organize your ideas in a Venn diagram before you begin.

Reading Strategy Questioning Questioning can help you determine an author’s pur- pose and the parts of a selection that are the most important. As you read a text, be sure to continually ask yourself whether you understand the ideas the author is trying to convey.

1. What do you think was Pound’s purpose for writing “A Pact”?

2. Write and answer two questions you might ask about the poem that could help you determine Pound’s purpose. Give evidence for your answers.

Vocabulary Practice Practice with Context Clues For each blank identify the appropriate vocabulary word.

1. Anger never solved anything; we need healthy dialogue and ____ to solve the problem.

2. I highly doubt that some ghostly ____ stole your homework.

3. The heavy storm caused the ____ of a tree to fall and crash into my windshield.

4. I have never enjoyed travel in an airplane; in fact, I have always ____ it.

Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.

LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY

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BEFORE YOU READ

Author Search For more about Author Name, go to www.literature.glencoe.com.

MEET T. S. ELIOT

T. S. Eliot revolutionized poetry more than any other twentieth-century writer. His experiments in language and form and his introduction of the scenes and concerns of every- day life into poetry changed literary tastes and influenced future poets.

Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, into a distinguished family that provided him with the best education available. In 1906 he matriculated at Harvard, where he steeped himself in literature and published his first poems. At Harvard, he studied under Irving Babbitt, the New Humanist critic of Romanticism, who helped Eliot develop his taste for classicism in literature. Eliot then studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, at Harvard, and at Oxford. He eventually settled in England.

The First Modernist Poet In his youth, Eliot was influenced by the French Symbolist poets. In England, Eliot met the Imagist poet Ezra Pound, another American expatriate. Pound had an even stronger influence on Eliot. He championed Eliot’s writing

and served as his editor. In 1915 Pound per- suaded Poetry magazine to publish “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Often called the first Modernist poem, “Prufrock” captures the emptiness and alienation many people experienced

while living in impersonal modern cities. The poem baffled and angered many

readers. They found its subject mat- ter “unpoetic,” its fragmented struc- ture off-putting, and its allusions, difficult to understand.

The outbreak of World War I prevented Eliot’s return to Harvard for his final doctoral

examinations. He remained in England, where he mar-

ried Vivien Haigh- Wood, taught school, and

worked for Lloyds Bank. He also continued to write poetry and literary essays. His best-known work, The Waste Land, was published in 1922; in it he expresses the disillusionment that many people felt after World War I and decries the inability to find meaning and purpose in life. The work brought him international acclaim, but not happiness. Eliot was facing great strain in his marriage and in his job.

“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”

—T. S. Eliot

Finding a Purpose Eventually, Eliot began a new, more satisfying career as a book editor and joined the Church of England. In Christianity he found a purpose in life, and in his poems, such as “The Hollow Men,” “Ash Wednesday,” and Four Quartets, he described the importance and diffi- culty of belief in a spiritually impoverished world.

In his later years, Eliot wrote several plays, attempting to adapt verse drama to the modern stage. Murder in the Cathedral (1935), about the martyrdom of Saint Thomas à Becket, was a great success in both England and the United States. He also wrote literary criticism. In recognition of his achievements, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot’s poetry has been praised for the power of its symbolism, its precise, often ironic language, and its mastery of form. At the time of his death in 1965, Eliot was considered by many to be the most important and influential poet and critic writing in the English language.

T. S. Eliot was born in 1888 and died in 1965.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

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Author Search For more about T. S. Eliot, go to www.glencoe.com.

Bettmann/CORBIS

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LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW

Connecting to the Poem In Eliot’s poem, the speaker asks himself, “Do I dare?” about several things. As you read, think about the fol- lowing questions:

• What makes the speaker afraid to dare? • Do you find the questions that the speaker asks

himself to be important or trivial? What would you choose to do if you were in the speaker’s situation?

Building Background When Eliot wrote “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” cities were growing at a rapid rate. In many countries, city dwellers outnumbered those inhabiting rural areas. Factories overran residential neighborhoods, and people crowded into huge tenement buildings. Factory owners amassed great wealth at the expense of workers who toiled under miserable conditions. In his poems, Eliot expressed the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and frustration that came with these changes.

Setting Purposes for Reading Big Idea New Poetics As you read, notice how Eliot deliberately rejects some of the conventions of traditional poetry.

Literary Element Allusion An allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or a situation from history, art, music, or literature. For example, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” can be seen as an extended allusion to Dante’s Inferno. By quoting Dante in the epigraph, Eliot suggests that Prufrock’s journey with a companion through the streets of London to “the room” is similar to the journey that Dante and Virgil make through the underworld to the center of hell.

• See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R1.

Reading Strategy Connecting to Cultural Context

A piece of writing is more meaningful to you when you place it in its cultural context. Think about the society in which the writer lived, the technologies that surrounded the writer, and the historical forces that influenced the writer’s choice of subject matter, point of view, and tone. “Prufrock,” like much of Eliot’s work, is set in the cultural context of England’s upper-middle-class society in London before, during, and after World War I.

Vocabulary

insidious (in si�dē əs) adj. slyly dangerous; deceitful; p. 658 The insidious criminal gained the confidence of his victims.

presume (pri z¯¯¯oom�) v. to expect something without justification; to take for granted; p. 660; The employee presumed she would be promoted because her boss liked her.

digress (d�̄ �res�) v. to depart from the main subject; to ramble; p. 660 The history teacher liked to digress by telling the class amusing personal anecdotes.

malinger (mə lin���ər) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to avoid work; p. 660 In order to avoid the big math test, John decided to malinger and stayed home.

deferential (def´ə ren�shəl) adj. yielding to someone else’s opinions or wishes; p. 662 The devoted son was always deferential toward his father.

Vocabulary Tip: Antonyms Antonyms are words that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings. Antonyms are always the same part of speech.

Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com.

T. S . ELIOT 657

In studying this selection, you will focus on the following:

• interpreting literary allusions • analyzing visual images

• understanding dramatic monologue • writing a character analysis

OBJECTIVES

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1. The epigraph is from Dante’s Inferno, Canto XXVII, in which a condemned spirit in hell confesses his sins. He says, “If I thought that I was speaking / to someone who would go back to the world, / this flame would shake no more. / But since nobody has ever / gone back alive from this place, if what I hear is true, / I answer you without fear of infamy.”

2. Etherised (etherized) (ē thə r ̄zd́ ) means “anesthetized with ether, as before an operation”; in other words, “made insensitive to pain.”

3. Tedious means “tiresome because of length” or “boring.”

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S’io credessi che mia resposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza più scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s’i’odo il vero, senza tema d’infamia ti respondo.1

Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised2 upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, 5 The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious3 argument Of insidious intent 10 To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . Oh, do not ask, ‘What is it?’ Let us go and make our visit.

T. S. Eliot

New Poetics How is this simile an example of Modernism in poetry?

Big Idea

insidious (in sidē əs) adj. slyly dangerous; deceitful

Vocabulary

Winter Night, 1928. Stefan Hirsch. Oil on panel, 221/2 x 193/4 in. Collection of the Newark Museum.

Collection of the Newark Museum. Anonymous gift, 1929. (cat. No. 55)/Art Resource, NY

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T. S. ELIOT 659

In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo.4

15 The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys, 20 Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, And seeing that it was a soft October night, Curled once about the house, and fell asleep. And indeed there will be time For the yellow smoke that slides along the street 25 Rubbing its back upon the window-panes; There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; There will be time to murder and create, And time for all the works and days of hands 30 That lift and drop a question on your plate; Time for you and time for me, And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of a toast and tea.

35 In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo.

And indeed there will be time To wonder, ‘Do I dare?’ and, ‘Do I dare?’ Time to turn back and descend the stair, 40 With a bald spot in the middle of my hair— (They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin!’) My morning coat,5 my collar mounting firmly to the chin, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted6 by a simple pin— (They will say: ‘But how his arms and legs are thin!’) 45 Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all— 50 Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

4. Michelangelo Buonarroti (m̄ ́kəl an jə lō bwo na ro tē) (1475– 1564) was a gifted Italian sculptor and painter.

5. A morning coat is a man’s jacket that slopes away from a front button at the waist to tails at the back. It was worn for formal daytime dress.

6. Here, asserted means “made more bold” or “enhanced.”

New Poetics How does Eliot disregard traditional poetic elements in these lines? What traditional element does he keep?

Big Idea

Connecting to Cultural Context What is the cultural dif- ference between this room and the streets through which Prufrock has traveled?

Reading Strategy

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I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume?

55 And I have known the eyes already, known them all— The eyes that fix you in a formulated7 phrase, And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, Then how should I begin 60 To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways? And how should I presume? And I have known the arms already, known them all— Arms that are braceleted and white and bare (But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)? 65 Is it perfume from a dress That makes me so digress? Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl. And should I then presume? And how should I begin? 70 Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? . . . I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. 75 And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully! Smoothed by long fingers, Asleep . . . tired . . . or it malingers, Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me. Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, 80 Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter8

I am no prophet9—and here’s no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

7. Formulated means “reduced to or expressed as a formula,” thereby losing individuality.

Allusion Although he claims not to be a prophet, Prufrock compares himself to John the Baptist. In what sense does Prufrock envision his head “brought in upon a platter”?

Literary Element

8. [head . . . platter] This biblical reference is to the beheading of the prophet John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1–11). King Herod was so pleased with the dancing of Salome, his stepdaughter, that he promised her anything she desired. Prompted by her mother, Salome asked for the head of John on a platter. Herod granted her request.

9. A prophet is a person who predicts the future or who speaks by divine inspiration.

presume (pri zō̄ōm) v. to expect something without justification; to take for granted digress (d̄ res) v. to depart from the main subject; to ramble malinger (mə linər) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to avoid work

Vocabulary

Connecting to Cultural Context What does this metaphor tell the reader about the society that Prufrock inhabits?

Reading Strategy

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85 And I have seen the eternal Footman10 hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all, After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, 90 Would it have been worth while, To have bitten off the matter with a smile, To have squeezed the universe into a ball

To roll it towards some overwhelming question, To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead,11

95 Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’— If one, settling a pillow by her head, Should say: ‘That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all.’ And would it have been worth it, after all, 100 Would it have been worth while,

T. S. ELIOT 661

10. The eternal Footman is Death.

11 . [I am Lazarus . . . dead] This biblical reference is to John 11:1– 44 in which Jesus restores his friend Lazarus to life after he has been dead for four days.

Allusion How is Prufrock’s allusion to Lazarus ironic?Literary Element

Rainy Night, 1930. Charles Burchfield. Watercolor, 30 x 42 in. San Diego Museum of Art.

Connecting to Cultural Context How does this symbol characterize the cultural context of the poem?

Reading Strategy

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662 UNIT 5 BEGINNINGS OF THE MODERN AGE

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail

along the floor— And this, and so much more?— It is impossible to say just what I mean!

105 But as if a magic lantern12 threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

Would it have been worth while If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl, And turning toward the window, should say: ‘That is not it at all, 110 That is not what I meant, at all.’

No! I am not Prince Hamlet,13 nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress,14 start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, 115 Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic,15 cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;16

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— Almost, at times, the Fool.

120 I grow old . . . I grow old . . . I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

125 I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves Combing the white hair of the waves blown back When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea 130 By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

Allusion What does this allusion tell the reader about how Prufrock sees himself?

Literary Element

New Poetics How is this line an example of the new poetics of Modernism?Big Idea

12. The magic lantern, a forerunner of the modern slide projector, was a device for projecting enlarged images.

13. Prince Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

14. To swell a progress is to partici- pate in, and thereby increase (swell) the number of people in a royal procession or a play.

15. Politic (po lə tik) means “characterized by prudence or shrewdness in managing, dealing, or promoting a policy.”

16. High sentence is fancy, pompous speech full of advice, like that of the old counselor Polonius in Hamlet. Obtuse (əb t¯¯¯oos) means “slow in understanding” or “dull.”

deferential (def´ə renshəl) adj. yielding to someone else’s opinions or wishes

Vocabulary

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AFTER YOU READ

Respond 1. What image does the name J. Alfred Prufrock con-

jure up for you? How does Prufrock, as his charac- ter and personality are expressed throughout the poem, illustrate this image?

Recall and Interpret 2. (a)In lines 1–9, what do the images that Prufrock

uses to describe the evening and the places he will travel through evoke? (b)What do these descriptions suggest about his state of mind?

3. (a)What kinds of activities does Prufrock say he will have time for in lines 26–48? (b)What does he mean by “Do I dare/Disturb the universe”?

4. (a)How does Prufrock describe himself and his life in lines 49–74? (b)What does Prufrock’s description of his life suggest about his personal self-assessment?

Analyze and Evaluate 5. (a)What are being compared in the extended

metaphor in lines 15–22? (b)How does this metaphor contribute to the meaning of the poem?

6. (a)In lines 26–27, Prufrock says that there will be time “To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.” For what occasions does one “prepare a face”? Explain. (b)What is the difference between meeting a “face” and meeting a person?

7. (a)What, in your opinion, is Prufrock’s “overwhelming question” (lines 10 and 93)? (b)Why does Prufrock never ask the question?

8. (a)What does the allusion to mermaids (lines 124–130) suggest about Prufrock’s state of mind? (b)What is the function of the final line of the poem?

Connect 9. Big Idea New Poetics (a)How does this “love

song” differ from traditional love poetry? (b)How is the title of the poem ironic?

RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY

Study the painting Rainy Night below. The painter, Charles Burchfield (1893–1967), is known for his watercolors. This work was painted in 1930 and is

representative of the second phase of the artist’s career, when he painted scenes depicting the bleakness of city life.

1. What is your overall impression of the painting? Cite details in the painting that contribute to your impression.

2. Which images or lines from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” might you use to describe this painting? Explain.

T. S. ELIOT 663

VISUAL LITERACY: Fine Art

Rainy Night, 1930. Charles Burchfield. Watercolor, 30 x 42 in. San Diego Museum of Art.

San Diego Museum of Art. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam.

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LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY

Literary Element Allusion When an author uses an allusion, he or she appeals to the reader to appreciate and enjoy a shared artistic experience. An allusion can add richness and depth to a work of literature through its association of ideas. For example, lines 92–93 contain an allusion to Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress,” in which the speaker says, “Let us roll all our strength and all / Our sweetness into one ball, / And tear our pleasures with rough strife / Through the iron gates of life.” This allu- sion is ironic because Prufrock, after squeezing “the universe into a ball,” is unable to “roll it towards some overwhelming question.”

1. In the allusion to Shakespeare in lines 111–119, why does Prufrock claim he is not Prince Hamlet?

2. In the poem, Prufrock makes allusions to John the Baptist, Lazarus, and Hamlet. What do these char- acters have in common? How do they relate to Prufrock?

3. In your opinion, what is the overall effect of Eliot’s use of allusions in this poem?

Review: Dramatic Monologue As you learned on page 500, a dramatic monologue is an extended speech by a literary character to a silent listener. When that silent listener is the reader, the speech takes the form of an interior monologue, also known as stream of consciousness, a term first used by the psychologist William James to describe the spontaneous flow of a person’s random thoughts and feelings. Some readers have interpreted “Prufrock” as a stream-of-consciousness monologue in which Prufrock addresses his alter ego, or the opposite side of his personality.

Partner Activity Meet with a classmate and talk about the function of the dramatic monologue in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Address these ques- tions during your discussion:

1. Who is the “you” in line 1?

2. What is the relationship between the “you” in the poem and the “you” in the epigraph from Dante’s Inferno?

3. Does Prufrock maintain the same tone throughout the poem? Explain.

Reading Strategy Connecting to Cultural Context

You can use what you know about the cultural context of the poem to enhance its meaning. For example, the allusion “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (lines 13–14, 35–36) refers to the great Italian Renaissance painter.

1. What sort of room do you imagine the women are in? Describe it.

2. What can you infer about these women?

3. Why do you think that the lines are repeated? What can you infer from this repetition about the nature of the women’s conversations?

Vocabulary Practice Practice with Antonyms Find the antonym for each vocabulary word from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” listed in the first column. Use a dictionary if you need help.

1. insidious a. candid b. honest

2. presume a. demur b. defer

3. digress a. stray b. focus

4. malinger a. persevere b. pretend

5. deferential a. rude b. arrogant

Academic Vocabulary

Here are two words from the vocabulary list on page R86. These words will help you think, write, and talk about the selection.

comment (ko� ment) v. to make an observation or criticism; to express an opinion

seek (sēk) v. to go in search of; to look for

Practice and Apply 1. Comment on how successful you think Eliot was

in finding new forms and new poetics to express his ideas in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”

2. What does the speaker seem to seek through- out the poem? Does he find it?

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Writing About Literature Analyze Character Is Prufrock a tragic character—is the reader supposed to feel sorrow and pity about his situation? Or is he a comic character—is the reader sup- posed to laugh at him or think he is foolish? Write a brief essay in which you express and support your opin- ion. Begin by formulating a main idea in which you state that Prufrock is essentially tragic or comic—or a combi- nation of both. Then review the poem to find lines and images that support your position. Organize your thoughts in a graphic organizer, such as the one below.

Supporting Detail

Main Idea

Conclusion

Supporting Detail

Supporting Detail

Then write a draft, making sure to include all your sup- porting details. Make smooth transitions between your ideas.

After you complete your draft, meet with a peer reviewer. Evaluate each other’s work and suggest revi- sions. Then proofread and edit your draft for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Submit the final copy to your teacher.

Performing Put Yourself in Prufrock’s Shoes Choose a section (at least 15–20 lines) of “Prufrock” to perform. In planning your performance, you can create a costume or use props if you wish, but it is more important to choose a physical posture and vocal quality appropri- ate to the character. Plan your facial expressions, ges- tures, and movements. Also, practice speaking the lines aloud to determine the appropriate volume, into- nation, and timing—and to determine which words and phrases you should emphasize. Finally, perform your piece for the class.