![]() ![]() Line 81: It’s very ironic for Prufrock to claim he has fasted, considering that we know how much toast and marmalade he likes to eat.Essentially, he lives from one cup of coffee or tea to the next. Here the spoon is a synecdoche that actually refers to the whole process of sitting around in the afternoon and sipping on a nice, hot, caffeinated drink. Line 51: In this famous metaphor, Prufrock says that the spoons he uses to measure his coffee are like a "measure" of his life, as well.Line 34: Prufrock has big plans to accomplish before "toast and tea" in the afternoon.There’s even sawdust on the floor to soak up all the spilled drinks. Line 7: Most of the food and drinks in this poem sound nice, but not the oysters at this low-class restaurant.It’s one of those small daily pleasures he just can’t live without. He’s a total caffeine junky, which may explain why he seems to talk so much. Have you ever seen one of those PBS shows or period films where British people sit around and sip tea and eat finger foods? "Prufrock" offers a parody of this easy-going tradition, as Prufrock thinks constantly about what he has just eaten, what’s he’s about to eat, or what he may or may not eat in the future. Lines 70-72: Prufrock returns to the setting of the beginning of the poem to give the imagery of a man leaning out of a window and smoking a pipe.Line 64: The lamplight from the same streets reveals the hair on the woman’s arm.Prufrock never actually uses the word "cat," but it’s clear from words like "muzzled," "back," "tongue," "leap," and "curled" that he is talking about a sly little kitty. Lines 13-22: An extended metaphor comparing the streets to a cat runs through this entire stanza.Usually arguments are supposed to answer questions, but this one only leads to "an overwhelming question." An "argument" is a line of reasoning – lawyers make arguments, for example. Lines 8-10: In this simile, the winding, twisting streets are compared to a "tedious argument" that makes people lost with confusion.Also, the nights aren’t actually "restless" they make people restless. It’s not the "retreats" that are "muttering," but it seems that way because they are the kinds of places where you would run into muttering people. Lines 4-7: Parts of the scene are depicted using personification.Just like our narrator, the streets are misleading and go nowhere. True to Prufrock’s circular and evasive style, the poem returns several times to the imagery of these gritty streets, with contrast with the prim and proper middle-class life he seems to lead. Quite the opposite, it seems to be the seediest part of town. The poem begins with Prufrock inviting us to take a walk with him, but we soon learn that this isn’t some romantic tree-line avenue by the river. Check out our "How to Read a Poem" section for a glossary of terms. Before you travel any further, please know that there may be some thorny academic terminology ahead. Welcome to the land of symbols, imagery, and wordplay. ![]()
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