How do I proceed? Ever been so nervous it eats you up inside? Well if you have, you’ll know exactly how J. Alfred Prufrock feels. So, how do I proceed? T.S Eliot’s poem The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock is based on these sort of questions of uncertainty and insecurity, this links directly to the theory of Sigmund Freud. Freudian theory (2). Freudian theory is shown in three key ways throughout the poem, the way Prufrock grapples with psychological stress, a balance of ego, super-ego and id and suppressing of desires.
In the poem it is clear to see that Prufrock deals with a lot of psychological stress when it comes to asking out the girl of his dreams. Prufrock is constantly asking himself how he should make his next move “how do I proceed?”. …show more content…
In the end Prufrock doesn’t ask the girl out, this suggests that Prufrock is dominated by his super-ego, his more cautious and calculating side. ‘Threatens it (id) with punishments exactly like the parents whose place is taken’, this extract is from Paul Kline, Fact and Fantasy in Freudian Theory (1972) explains exactly what Prufrock’s mind is telling him. Prufrock’s mind is calculating the consequences of being rejected and assessing whether the rejection would outweigh the reward of being with the girl. Prufrock’s id is telling him to ask the girl and that the reward is worth it, while his super-ego is telling him that the pain of rejection is way worse than the reward. T. S Eliot may have used some of his personal experiences when it came to writing The Love Song. As a young boy Eliot was described to be a timid boy who liked to sit by the window and read a big book. All this reading as a child would mean that Eliot wasn’t spending valuable time with friends and instead spent it by himself. This may mean that Eliot struggled …show more content…
The reader sees in the first line that Prufrock is already planning how the night should play out in his head “let us go then, you and I”, Prufrock is trying to talk himself up to it as he believes that he can get the girl. Further along the poem we see Prufrock’s ego “and how should I then presume? And how should I begin?”, Prufrock is beginning to question his courage and question whether or not he can actually get the girl of his dreams. Prufrock is letting both his id and his super-ego argue with each other until one wins and decides his fate. Further on, the reader sees that in fact Prufrock let’s his super-ego win “and in short, I was afraid”. This all suggests that Prufrock has an unhealthy balance of super-ego to id. At the beginning Prufrock was confident and ready, but by the end of the poem he was a wimpy mess. “When confronted with someone who looks or acts differently, many of us tend to recoil.” this analysis from Scott E Page, The Difference - How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies also shows exactly what Prufrock does when he meets this new girl that he wants to ask out, his super-ego takes control and he ‘recoils’. Even though Prufrock was a coward, it may not be entirely his own doing, as I stated earlier being courageous was how a man was expected to act, but when the reader looks
In the poem it is clear to see that Prufrock deals with a lot of psychological stress when it comes to asking out the girl of his dreams. Prufrock is constantly asking himself how he should make his next move “how do I proceed?”. …show more content…
In the end Prufrock doesn’t ask the girl out, this suggests that Prufrock is dominated by his super-ego, his more cautious and calculating side. ‘Threatens it (id) with punishments exactly like the parents whose place is taken’, this extract is from Paul Kline, Fact and Fantasy in Freudian Theory (1972) explains exactly what Prufrock’s mind is telling him. Prufrock’s mind is calculating the consequences of being rejected and assessing whether the rejection would outweigh the reward of being with the girl. Prufrock’s id is telling him to ask the girl and that the reward is worth it, while his super-ego is telling him that the pain of rejection is way worse than the reward. T. S Eliot may have used some of his personal experiences when it came to writing The Love Song. As a young boy Eliot was described to be a timid boy who liked to sit by the window and read a big book. All this reading as a child would mean that Eliot wasn’t spending valuable time with friends and instead spent it by himself. This may mean that Eliot struggled …show more content…
The reader sees in the first line that Prufrock is already planning how the night should play out in his head “let us go then, you and I”, Prufrock is trying to talk himself up to it as he believes that he can get the girl. Further along the poem we see Prufrock’s ego “and how should I then presume? And how should I begin?”, Prufrock is beginning to question his courage and question whether or not he can actually get the girl of his dreams. Prufrock is letting both his id and his super-ego argue with each other until one wins and decides his fate. Further on, the reader sees that in fact Prufrock let’s his super-ego win “and in short, I was afraid”. This all suggests that Prufrock has an unhealthy balance of super-ego to id. At the beginning Prufrock was confident and ready, but by the end of the poem he was a wimpy mess. “When confronted with someone who looks or acts differently, many of us tend to recoil.” this analysis from Scott E Page, The Difference - How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies also shows exactly what Prufrock does when he meets this new girl that he wants to ask out, his super-ego takes control and he ‘recoils’. Even though Prufrock was a coward, it may not be entirely his own doing, as I stated earlier being courageous was how a man was expected to act, but when the reader looks