Reading the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” was a wonderful experience. The experience provided insights on how narration, lyrics, tone of voice and use of figurative language can be used in a poetry work. The author has artistically used these elements that kept me in the mood and desire to complete reading the poem. Narration, for instance has been successfully used by Eliot n his work.  The poem takes us through a journey where the speaker gives his ideas to us through narration. In the poem, we are told of a middle aged man who is naïve and always slow in decision making. Through narration, the reader can be able to follow keenly the proceedings of the poem. Narration helps the reader to relate with the happenings of the poem as it revolves around happenings that occur in daily lives thus keeping one fully engaged as we accompany Prufrock on a journey in the city (Mays 677). The narration process has enabled me understand the physical and emotional qualities of the speaker which has made the experience even more exciting.  In essence, the poem is written I the voice of the speaker rather than that of the poet.

Additionally, the writer has also used lyrics to perfection in the poem.  The use of lyrics in this poem made it easy for me to understand the emotions and feelings of Prufrock. In the poem, we can understand the feelings of the speaker especially his fear against women. The lyrics help us understand the naivety and indecisiveness of the speaker as there are several rhetoric questions in the art. Lyrics help the reader understand the feelings of the speaker in relation to thin hair as well as the thin arms and legs. It is possible to create a picture of what the speaker is experiencing. ‘’They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!” from these lines, I can easily conclude that the speaker is a middle aged man and soon or later will be old(Mays 675)..

The poem has also successfully used tone of voice to express feelings and attitudes of the writer. However, the tone effect is not very clear as you read the poem but listening to the poem being recited makes it easy to understand the tone. Watching it from the you tube was a wonderful experience as opposed to the boredom associated with reading. The tone makes us sympathize with the speaker and also makes it possible to have further understanding of poetry. For instance, from the phrase ‘’ To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,’’ one can easily understand the attitude and feelings of the speaker (Mays 695). Lyrics have also been instrumental as speaker recollects on past arms and relations that he had with women. I understand his frustrations when he realizes that soon he will miss the comfort of these women.

The use of figurative language in the work made me appreciate the poem even more. It is imperative noting that the poem is rich in figurative language that makes it easy understanding the inner meaning of the poem. Figurative language makes the work of poetry more interesting as one tries to understand the hidden meaning. For instance Pufrock talks of “measured out” his life “with coffee spoons.” (Mays 815).  This is quite interesting since it is not possible to measure life with coffee spoons. But the choice of words makes the work interesting and also helps us imagine the awkwardness the speaker is experiencing in life. In essence, the poem is rich in all aspects thus making it one of the most thrilling poems.

Works Cited

Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 11th Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2013. Print.

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