In the ‘Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’, T.S Eliot gives the readers a view through a twenty-two-year-old modernist, around the beginning of World War 1, set in a bedraggled, populous city and its persona is represented by an extremely caliginous man under the name of Prufrock. He is depicted as one that is afraid of living and hence is continually procrastinating. In contrast, ‘Mirror’, written by Sylvia Plath in 1961, around two years before her suicide, carries one into the mind of a woman through the eyes of a “silver and exact” mirror and sees from the mirror, through to the woman’s ageing and definition of a woman changing for the period of time. While over fifty years separates these two poems, both explore how time, acceptance and
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He speaks of the thought process and education of Michelangelo, highlighting him as the society stereotype of the “great Renaissance man”. Prufrock however, is the opposite of this and is in fact the “anti-Renaissance man”. This represents his anxiety and opinions on modern society, as the Renaissance was about being able to do everything, however Prufrock believes he can’t do anything; a concept highlighted throughout ‘The Lovesong…’. He illustrates how he is incapable of making a decision as he is afraid of not being accepted by society. Plath, on the other hand, does not specifically criticise or comment on the modern society in ‘Mirror’, but does speak about society stereotypes. Plath shows preconceived ideas of the mirror reflecting the truth, “unmisted by love or dislike”. Unmisted stands for unchanged as a metaphor in relation to water, a symbol throughout ‘Mirror’ in representation of being clear but mysterious. This shows that there are preconceived ideas there, however it reflects the unchanged truth whether those are infatuated or feel animosity towards …show more content…
Eliot illustrates Prufrock’s concern of appearance, “my necktie rick and modest... (they will say: but how his arms and legs are thin!)”, reinforces ideas through parenthesis, concerned that even if he looks nice in one way, he will still be judged in another way, wrestling with fluctuations. Plath explores appearance similarly, “searching my reaches for what she really is,” showing the woman looking at herself in the water and the depths beyond in attempt to find something deeper in herself. However, this woman like many, is not satisfied with what she sees, this appearance is not the complete answer she was searching for. Society has expectations of beauty and women and as women age, they change and develop and their beauty changes so it’s not just on the outside. From there, they become into a negative state of mind about themselves because they don 't live up to society 's expectations and aren’t accepted because they are no longer beautiful and young. Plath demonstrates the preternaturally feminine “issue” of losing one’s beauty through aging. Both poems have recognized the human condition with the consciousness of death and concern of appearances. From there, this concern of appearance becomes acceptance, a part of the human condition explored by both
He speaks of the thought process and education of Michelangelo, highlighting him as the society stereotype of the “great Renaissance man”. Prufrock however, is the opposite of this and is in fact the “anti-Renaissance man”. This represents his anxiety and opinions on modern society, as the Renaissance was about being able to do everything, however Prufrock believes he can’t do anything; a concept highlighted throughout ‘The Lovesong…’. He illustrates how he is incapable of making a decision as he is afraid of not being accepted by society. Plath, on the other hand, does not specifically criticise or comment on the modern society in ‘Mirror’, but does speak about society stereotypes. Plath shows preconceived ideas of the mirror reflecting the truth, “unmisted by love or dislike”. Unmisted stands for unchanged as a metaphor in relation to water, a symbol throughout ‘Mirror’ in representation of being clear but mysterious. This shows that there are preconceived ideas there, however it reflects the unchanged truth whether those are infatuated or feel animosity towards …show more content…
Eliot illustrates Prufrock’s concern of appearance, “my necktie rick and modest... (they will say: but how his arms and legs are thin!)”, reinforces ideas through parenthesis, concerned that even if he looks nice in one way, he will still be judged in another way, wrestling with fluctuations. Plath explores appearance similarly, “searching my reaches for what she really is,” showing the woman looking at herself in the water and the depths beyond in attempt to find something deeper in herself. However, this woman like many, is not satisfied with what she sees, this appearance is not the complete answer she was searching for. Society has expectations of beauty and women and as women age, they change and develop and their beauty changes so it’s not just on the outside. From there, they become into a negative state of mind about themselves because they don 't live up to society 's expectations and aren’t accepted because they are no longer beautiful and young. Plath demonstrates the preternaturally feminine “issue” of losing one’s beauty through aging. Both poems have recognized the human condition with the consciousness of death and concern of appearances. From there, this concern of appearance becomes acceptance, a part of the human condition explored by both