J. Alfred Prufrock

E117097

J. Alfred Prufrock is the introspective, anxious, and self-doubting middle-aged narrator of T.S. Eliot’s modernist poem, whose fragmented thoughts reveal his profound alienation and fear of social and romantic failure.

All labels observed (3)

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
narrator
poetic persona
ageDepiction middle-aged
appearsIn Prufrock and Other Observations
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
characterType dramatic monologue speaker
introspective narrator
collectedIn Prufrock and Other Observations
createdBy T. S. Eliot
criticalReception widely studied in modernist literary criticism
emotion alienation
anxiety
self-doubt
firstPublication Poetry: A Magazine of Verse
surface form: Poetry magazine
firstPublicationYear 1915
form dramatic monologue
genre modernist poetry
influenced later depictions of the alienated modern anti-hero
language English
literaryDeviceAssociated interior monologue
stream of consciousness
literaryMovement Modernism
literarySignificance iconic figure of modernist insecurity
narrativeMode first-person narration
nationalityContext Anglo-American literature
notableLine Do I dare disturb the universe?
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons
In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo
psychologicalTrait fear of judgment
self-consciousness
social insecurity
relationshipToAuthor lyrical alter ego of T. S. Eliot (critical interpretation)
settingContext modern city
symbolizes emotional paralysis
failure of communication
spiritual exhaustion
themeAssociated fear of romantic failure
fear of social failure
fragmented consciousness
indecision
modern alienation
paralysis of will
urban isolation

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock speaker J. Alfred Prufrock
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock alsoKnownAs J. Alfred Prufrock
this entity surface form: Prufrock
Prufrock tunnel boring machine nameOrigin J. Alfred Prufrock
this entity surface form: named after J. Alfred Prufrock from T. S. Eliot’s poem
Prufrock-1 modelSeries J. Alfred Prufrock
this entity surface form: Prufrock
Prufrock-1 namedAfter J. Alfred Prufrock