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21 Comments
Destiny Allen
2/10/2017 01:25:11 pm
I think the whole idea of this poem is that he is unsatisfied with his life. He has become of age and miserable with his past life decisions. He is in a dream having flashbacks of his life and feeling regretful that he didn't go after what he really wanted. Throughout the poem he continues mentioning how much time he has to do things until he realizes there really isn't enough time to do anything he wanted to. In my opinion, the mermaids towards the end represents beautiful women that he once can have a chance with, but now he has waited too long to find a woman to spend his life with. Along with this we can assume that at the beginning of the poem when it says " the women come and go," that means he had no attachment to any of them and went through them like they were unimportant. I think because of that, he is now lonely and depressed with his life.
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Tiffany
2/12/2017 04:07:20 pm
I agree with this Destiny. Between him aging and not having a stable relationship with a woman I agree he feels his life miserable and he is in a way depressed about how everything is turning out.
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Lizzy Matthews
2/11/2017 09:03:26 pm
Reading this poem, I saw it differently than when we talked about it. I thought he was happy with his life and what hed done. He had an average life, but most of us will. An average life is still a beautiful life. "And would it have been worth it, after all," he continues to list moments in his life, seemingly normal, average moments, "It is impossible to say just what I mean! " His life consisted of many moments all precious to him. That's how I saw it, as a man talking about this average life, and about how just an average life is made of many beautiful small moments. We are all going to die, there will be no fantasy immortal life for any of us. We are average people. Life will not stop for us. So while we live we should savor all the little moments, and live while we can. I thought it was just about making life worth it. I don't know if this was just my optimism speaking, the side that wanted to see the happiness and goodness in the poem. I didn't even realize that he could be unhappy with his life, I read it as him remembering his past, the little moments.It was a poem going through a mans life, the little moments.
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bella
2/13/2017 11:10:11 am
I agree with Lizzy about how the poems was like him remembering his past and telling parts of his memories
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Tiffany Samples
2/12/2017 04:07:41 pm
Through out this poem the writer talks about himself aging. He states “ I grow old….. I grow old…..” he talks about how people might talk about him when he goes bald and ages in the looks of his face and body. Almost as if he is scared to age just like many others. He doesn't want people to notice and change their feelings or actions toward him. He says that he is no prince hamlet but he is an attendant lord. He has so much to say within these stanzas of the poem but he struggles to get it out completely. He can't seem to say what he wants to, it is all coming out wrong. “That is not it at all, That is not what I meant, at all.”
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Mark Miranda
2/12/2017 05:42:11 pm
T.S Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", is a poem that explores the stages of aging. By encapsulating the idea of time through circumstances like "in the room the women come and go." A figurative statement that shows the passing of time. And this becomes more apparent as this phrase is repeated through out. Also as the poem progress the familiarity of the speaker to his surrounding also becomes deeper. It is proving the claim that wisdom comes with age.
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Destiny Allen
2/13/2017 11:51:35 am
I never really looked at the morning and afternoon in that way , but now that I think about it I like the way you analyzed that! It perfectly connects the whole theme of the story which is time passing .
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Nicholas Vaughan
2/12/2017 05:50:55 pm
With comparing this poem to class discussion, "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" is a type of YOLO styled documentary of an elderly man. He's constantly questioning if he has truly lived his life worthwhile or not through a 3rd person, Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" type of persona. He's taking a walk with the reader recollecting life's fondest memories through multiple allusions and analogies. To elaborate on what Lizzy Mathews said, I don't think he regrets decisions in his life. However, I believe he wishes he could of done more out of the time he has had. Isn't that what the majority of society wishes as they reevaluate their situation at an old age anyway?
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Becca Moriarty
2/14/2017 01:55:08 pm
I completely agree I feel like he wishes that he took those risks in life, that he dared himself too do all of those "dares", and now that he's old and ready to go he wants too live the life he never go too live. It honestly makes me sad when I think about it
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Bella
2/13/2017 11:08:48 am
Reading the poem I interpreted it as this man telling us the story of his life. He seemed to just go through tje motions and didnt really stop to appricate the things he exierenced. As the poem continues it gradually ages, as it progresses further into his life. He's constantly uses his hair graying or balding as a symbol to show his aging. By the end of the poem he brings up the mermaids who normally sing songs but don't bother singing any to him.
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Amanda Ervin
2/13/2017 11:58:17 am
I agree with Bella about how this poem is a story of his life and how as the poem progresses so does he in life. I like how you mentioned that the mermaids didn't sing to him in the end, kind of like how he wasn't worthy of it.
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Julia Gilpin
2/13/2017 10:16:04 pm
I like how you pointed out the symbolism for his hair and how it was balding to show his aging, and I never thought of the ending like that but it makes complete sense to me!
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Taylor Jones
3/9/2017 11:59:08 am
I agree that this man lives his life almost meaningless. Going through the motions is no way to live. He counts his days in such a trivial way. He doesn't count his life in importance events he counts them by coffee spoons
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Amanda Ervin
2/13/2017 11:54:58 am
I interpreted the poem as how he was unhappy with his life and didn't deserve a second chance (heaven). The portion of Dantes passage at the beginning leads me to believe that he feels like he should end up should end up in hell. Through the entirety of the poem you can tell through his nervous tone that he is scared of what's coming next because of what he did in this life. He makes references to how he has been with different women and experienced his life only to please himself. This creates a nervous, regretful image throughout the poem
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Morgan McKinney
2/13/2017 10:39:38 pm
I agree with Mandy about the fear of what is next for him. Nervous is a very good word to describe the feeling intertwined with the entire poem :)
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Julia Gilpin
2/13/2017 07:12:23 pm
When I first read "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Thomas Stearns Eliot I was confused on how to interpret the poem because at first I thought he was talking about how he wished he lived a different life and regretted how he had lived. However, after a few more readings the line "Like a patient etherized upon a table," made me question my first interpretation of the poem. Was he drugged and having a dream? Or was he imagining a better life? The yellow fog and the yellow smoke references made it seem to me like he was dreaming. Another part that was confusing to me was the ending, "We have lingered in the chambers of the sea, By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown, Till human voices wake us, and we drown." My initial thought was that it was him dying since the last word was drown. The whole poem in its entirety is confusing to me but I can appreciate its depth and underlying meaning.
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Adam Gary
2/17/2017 07:10:30 pm
I never thought of it this way! You've gave me a lot to think about, Julia.
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Morgan McKinney
2/13/2017 10:47:21 pm
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Thomas Stearns Eliot was very difficult for me to interpret at first. I had missed the in class discussion, so I was on my own to figure it out. After multiple read-through 's, it was evident to me that the poem was almost like a timeline. As the poem went on, so did his life, and it was clear he was unhappy and dissatisfied. He is very regretful in the events (or lack there of) in his lifespan. Sorta depressing
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Becca Moriarty
2/14/2017 01:52:59 pm
This poem was so confusing at first but I honestly loved it so much. It really makes you think DEEP. It made me feel like it was his dream as I was reading it. You can see that he keeps second guessing himself , and is trying too decide if he should take all these risks that he feels like he's missed out on his whole life. I think he feels like he's running out of time. If only he could just make a decision right?
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Adam Gary
2/17/2017 07:09:45 pm
I think this poem is about having all of those regrets, almost as if he's missing out on his entire life due to fear. If you let fear control your life, then is it really living at all? This poem took a little time for me to understand it but now I completely understand every word.
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Taylor Jones
3/9/2017 11:56:35 am
The concept of what it means to truly live life is extremely present. The main character lives in the past, meaning he will never truly live in the present which in turn will waste the time he has left of his life.i believe that t.s. Elliot wrote this piece as a cautionary tale about how if we always live in the past we never truly live. His regrets control him and wear down in him and if he would let go he'd love a much fuller life
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