In “The Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot, there seems to be a story that could fall under the classification of Modernism. Modernism was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and it involves negative and dark tone with a little bright light of hope hidden. Modernism started due to too many inventions during such a short time. There was a feeling that after these inventions, many cultural values will disappear and it will bring an enormous change in the society. In this poem, Prufrock has negativity filled within him, which gives the readers brief idea about Modernism, but it also holds a little hope. Prufrock is pessimistic and this pessimistic point of view is the representation of Modernistic idea that Eliot shows. Through the
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The little passage mentions Dante going in hell and he finds a person burning in fire. His curiosity leads him to question the situation. So to fulfill his curiosity Dante asks “Guido de Montefeltro, who is consumed in flames as punishment for giving false counsel, confesses his shame because he believes that it cannot be reported back on earth” (Pagnattaro). Dante’s ability to go back to Earth and change his future represents hope. Eliot places this passage at the very beginning of his poem, and it could interpreted that Eliot wishes for the readers to be optimistic and learn from Dante rather than being pessimistic like Prufrock. So, the readers should be more optimistic because Modernism only includes pessimism with a little bit of …show more content…
There are the mermaids, who could be interpreted as good creatures, but Prufrock is mentioning sirens, from mythology, as mermaids. Sirens were creatures that would be extremely beautiful on the top but they would have a wicked side underneath the water. They would attract their pry by their talented voices. In this poem, it is also mentioned in the very last line that “ Till human voices wake us, and we drown” which can contribute to the understanding that Prufrock will drown in the reality of the world, so the water stays symbolic throughout the poem (Eliot). The last line “is an image symbolic of that fuller, eternal reality” that brings the readers away from the mermaids (Scobie). The last line also proves that Prufrock was still negative towards life. Even till the end, he has been thinking about negative stuff and would not seem to notice the bright light in the
The little passage mentions Dante going in hell and he finds a person burning in fire. His curiosity leads him to question the situation. So to fulfill his curiosity Dante asks “Guido de Montefeltro, who is consumed in flames as punishment for giving false counsel, confesses his shame because he believes that it cannot be reported back on earth” (Pagnattaro). Dante’s ability to go back to Earth and change his future represents hope. Eliot places this passage at the very beginning of his poem, and it could interpreted that Eliot wishes for the readers to be optimistic and learn from Dante rather than being pessimistic like Prufrock. So, the readers should be more optimistic because Modernism only includes pessimism with a little bit of …show more content…
There are the mermaids, who could be interpreted as good creatures, but Prufrock is mentioning sirens, from mythology, as mermaids. Sirens were creatures that would be extremely beautiful on the top but they would have a wicked side underneath the water. They would attract their pry by their talented voices. In this poem, it is also mentioned in the very last line that “ Till human voices wake us, and we drown” which can contribute to the understanding that Prufrock will drown in the reality of the world, so the water stays symbolic throughout the poem (Eliot). The last line “is an image symbolic of that fuller, eternal reality” that brings the readers away from the mermaids (Scobie). The last line also proves that Prufrock was still negative towards life. Even till the end, he has been thinking about negative stuff and would not seem to notice the bright light in the