Nice job, Adam. I'm a writer who wrote and studied a lot of poetry in undergrad. Nine years ago, I sustained a traumatic brain injury and lost the ability to understand poetry. Major bummer. But when I watch your videos, I realize I may be able to relearn this skill, as I can follow your explanations. So I appreciate the close readings, especially this one, as Prufrock was always a favorite of mine in college. Thank you.
What a terrible thing to happen; I'm so sorry! I hope your reading of verse strengthens and that you get back your old love for poetry. And I'm so glad you found the video helpful and that it brought back some enjoyment. You're very welcome, and thanks for the kind words.
@@closereadingpoetry Thanks so much for your compassionate reply. I’ll be looking forward to your future episodes, Adam. I hope it’s a good summer for you.
Correction: The Job reference about the sky is spoken *by* Elihu *about *God (not by God): "Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?" (Job 37:18). This lends some new valence to the allusion. Job is unique from other books in the Bible because it's largely made up of dialogue, a dialogue between Job and his friends and between Job and God. In that sense it is a book full of voices. The allusion here is spoken by Elihu, the youngest friend of the group who, like most of Job's friends, refuses to comfort Job, yet his address to Job is markedly different from the older friends. Jewish and Christian scholars and commentators have been divided as to whether Elihu's words participate in the foolishness of Job's previous "comforters" or whether it serves as a wise prelude to the words of the Almighty which follow shortly after. This makes Eliot's allusion all the more suggestive and adds to the sense of ambivalence that is both present in the voice of Prufrock and felt by the readers of "Prufrock."
I see a closer connection between the anonymous women and the mermaids; they seem to be the same, but transfigured by Prufrock's (Eliot's) fears and indecisions. Having shied away from disturbing the universe, he retreats to a beach, a liminal space in which he can hold himself distant from the erotic threat that any women (or mermaids) represent. Even though they don't sing to him (skinny, balding, insignificant), but to each other (of Michelangelo, maybe), what they represent by their presence is dangerously seductive. Hearing the poem like this means I can't avoid hearing the 'human voices' at the close as exclusively male, as though women become a separate species. This feels congruent, to me, with the apparent intimate or confessional tone, co-opting 'you' (us), so long as the imagined audience is male. Prufrock (Eliot?) seems terrified of women. Maybe I'm reading too much in this ...
Wonderful. My admission interview for my undergraduate degree in literature at Warwick was based on a close reading of this poem, and it has been a favourite ever since. I have read it so many times and never failed to get something new from it each time. Your close reading of it brought even more revelations. Thank you! If you are a fan of Eliot then would you consider doing his Four Quartets? I have been reading them recently and think they are wonderful. I would love to see how you tackle them, as I’m sure you’ll see things that I have missed or misunderstood.
Ah, what a great poem to have for an admission interview. So rich! Thank you for the kind words, Robert. I love Four Quartets and may take you up on that if I can get over the sense of irreverent infringement I usually feel when analyzing Eliot... partly why it's taken me so long to get to him.
I as a student of literature found this poem elusive in 2004, it was so hard to understand but now that I'm teaching it, I'm in love with how Prufrock voices his inability to action and juxtaposes action with inaction through words that linger and break all along the poem. It really is his voice that he calls a confessional song here. Thank you for the analysis, it was enlightening.
For someone who might be interested, the translation of Dante's verses in the beginning of the poem are: "If I thought that my answer would be addressed to someone who ever could come back to the world (of the living), this flame would no longer move (i.e. I would no longer speak to you). But since never from this deep bottom (i.e. hell) was anyone ever able to turn alive again, if what I have heard is true, I will answer you without fear of being blamed". By the way, the french name "Laforgue" is pronounced "Laforg", the "-orgue" being hard as in "ORGanization".
You may be over-reading the stairs. Many 18th century UK town houses (including ours) had a drawing room on the first floor (up stairs). But thanks - this poem continues to give.
Hey! I've thought about two longer lectures on Yeats, giving attention to his early Romantic verse and his later Modernist verse respectively, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to do it. Is there a particular poem you'd like analyzed?
Henry James may have beat them both? Interesting: long before modernism, Dickens in "Our Mutual Friend" (his final completed novel, 1865) has a character called the 'Analytical Chemist' who forshadows the stream of conscious mode.
56:15 ..yet to understand the significance of the poem’s title…! …the poet perhaps is adding the verb ‘to do’ to the implicated verb ‘to be’…? ..the escapism seems directed to archaic Greece and the conjunction there to be found of heroic (decisive) action with the full tone of elemental imagery..
Just for the record. Eliot is not pictured in his Harvard class yearbook. He'd racked up just enough creds to finagle his last term abroad. I think Paris. He is pictured in the previous yearbook as a member of the lit society. No Crimson sharp elbows for him. On the far left, very juvenile but definitely Eliot as captioned ears like wings on his slick haired head, starched collar holding it up. Looking at it, i thought, some glimmers of Prufrock are rolling around between those ears when the flash went off. Sold it on eBay. Context. See ya over at PL.
Could it be Eliot is discussing his own sexuality. Upstairs are beds, this would be the place for love making. And the women discuss in their superficial lives. And then this is overlaid with hints of something greater, the Modern condition of a soulless spiritually drowned life. God and Homosexuality are two things that cannot be said. And another the strict social mores the suffocating strictures of that society. I was haunted in my youth (1970's) by these class distinctions. At the end he longs to break out of his prison, roll his trousers like the uninhibited, but instead he walks on the beach in flannels. And is left alone with his humanity. Wow a close reading brings out the unexpected beauty (I mean other than the music of the words), it is as if I see for the first time
I think I see that you’re doing here, reading and lecturing to us on the metaphysical poets and helping us understanding the unseen world. Since we all may have grown up only learning about the seen world. Or maybe I’m crazy, anyway, that’s what I’m seeing here with your videos. Looking forward to Milton
Nice job, Adam. I'm a writer who wrote and studied a lot of poetry in undergrad. Nine years ago, I sustained a traumatic brain injury and lost the ability to understand poetry. Major bummer. But when I watch your videos, I realize I may be able to relearn this skill, as I can follow your explanations. So I appreciate the close readings, especially this one, as Prufrock was always a favorite of mine in college. Thank you.
What a terrible thing to happen; I'm so sorry! I hope your reading of verse strengthens and that you get back your old love for poetry. And I'm so glad you found the video helpful and that it brought back some enjoyment. You're very welcome, and thanks for the kind words.
@@closereadingpoetry Thanks so much for your compassionate reply. I’ll be looking forward to your future episodes, Adam. I hope it’s a good summer for you.
@greilcook
Best wishes, my friend. You are strong. You shall overcome.
Correction: The Job reference about the sky is spoken *by* Elihu *about *God (not by God): "Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?" (Job 37:18). This lends some new valence to the allusion. Job is unique from other books in the Bible because it's largely made up of dialogue, a dialogue between Job and his friends and between Job and God. In that sense it is a book full of voices. The allusion here is spoken by Elihu, the youngest friend of the group who, like most of Job's friends, refuses to comfort Job, yet his address to Job is markedly different from the older friends. Jewish and Christian scholars and commentators have been divided as to whether Elihu's words participate in the foolishness of Job's previous "comforters" or whether it serves as a wise prelude to the words of the Almighty which follow shortly after. This makes Eliot's allusion all the more suggestive and adds to the sense of ambivalence that is both present in the voice of Prufrock and felt by the readers of "Prufrock."
Hope to see you do more Eliot. Specifically his Four Quartets. Would love to understand it more. :)
Take a bow young man! Excellent analysis that opens new windows on the seemingly elusive Prufrock. I see something new each time I read this poem.
I see a closer connection between the anonymous women and the mermaids; they seem to be the same, but transfigured by Prufrock's (Eliot's) fears and indecisions. Having shied away from disturbing the universe, he retreats to a beach, a liminal space in which he can hold himself distant from the erotic threat that any women (or mermaids) represent. Even though they don't sing to him (skinny, balding, insignificant), but to each other (of Michelangelo, maybe), what they represent by their presence is dangerously seductive. Hearing the poem like this means I can't avoid hearing the 'human voices' at the close as exclusively male, as though women become a separate species. This feels congruent, to me, with the apparent intimate or confessional tone, co-opting 'you' (us), so long as the imagined audience is male. Prufrock (Eliot?) seems terrified of women. Maybe I'm reading too much in this ...
Can you do the wasteland next please
Wonderful. My admission interview for my undergraduate degree in literature at Warwick was based on a close reading of this poem, and it has been a favourite ever since. I have read it so many times and never failed to get something new from it each time. Your close reading of it brought even more revelations. Thank you! If you are a fan of Eliot then would you consider doing his Four Quartets? I have been reading them recently and think they are wonderful. I would love to see how you tackle them, as I’m sure you’ll see things that I have missed or misunderstood.
Ah, what a great poem to have for an admission interview. So rich! Thank you for the kind words, Robert. I love Four Quartets and may take you up on that if I can get over the sense of irreverent infringement I usually feel when analyzing Eliot... partly why it's taken me so long to get to him.
I second that video on the Four Quartets would be in order
I as a student of literature found this poem elusive in 2004, it was so hard to understand but now that I'm teaching it, I'm in love with how Prufrock voices his inability to action and juxtaposes action with inaction through words that linger and break all along the poem. It really is his voice that he calls a confessional song here. Thank you for the analysis, it was enlightening.
For someone who might be interested, the translation of Dante's verses in the beginning of the poem are: "If I thought that my answer would be addressed to someone who ever could come back to the world (of the living), this flame would no longer move (i.e. I would no longer speak to you). But since never from this deep bottom (i.e. hell) was anyone ever able to turn alive again, if what I have heard is true, I will answer you without fear of being blamed". By the way, the french name "Laforgue" is pronounced "Laforg", the "-orgue" being hard as in "ORGanization".
You may be over-reading the stairs. Many 18th century UK town houses (including ours) had a drawing room on the first floor (up stairs). But thanks - this poem continues to give.
But, according to some, the (purported) locale for T. S. Eliot's 'Prufrock' is St.Louis, Missouri (in the United States), not The United Kingdom.
@@hemantmuley8414 Or Boston.
Brilliant! Ever thought of analysing W.B. Yeats?
Hey! I've thought about two longer lectures on Yeats, giving attention to his early Romantic verse and his later Modernist verse respectively, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to do it. Is there a particular poem you'd like analyzed?
It would be quite nice if you could do Sailing to Byzantium or Leda and the Swan@@closereadingpoetry
I nominate The Stolen Child.
@@closereadingpoetry
"Sailing to Byzantium".
Is it fair to say that T.S. Eliot beat James Joyce to the whole stream of consciousness thing?
Henry James may have beat them both? Interesting: long before modernism, Dickens in "Our Mutual Friend" (his final completed novel, 1865) has a character called the 'Analytical Chemist' who forshadows the stream of conscious mode.
@@charliewest1221 Cool. I will check it out.
@@SingleMalt77005
Cheers!
56:15 ..yet to understand the significance of the poem’s title…!
…the poet perhaps is adding the verb ‘to do’ to the implicated verb ‘to be’…?
..the escapism seems directed to archaic Greece and the conjunction there to be found of heroic (decisive) action with the full tone of elemental imagery..
Just for the record. Eliot is not pictured in his Harvard class yearbook. He'd racked up just enough creds to finagle his last term abroad. I think Paris. He is pictured in the previous yearbook as a member of the lit society. No Crimson sharp elbows for him. On the far left, very juvenile but definitely Eliot as captioned ears like wings on his slick haired head, starched collar holding it up. Looking at it, i thought, some glimmers of Prufrock are rolling around between those ears when the flash went off. Sold it on eBay. Context.
See ya over at PL.
I knew nothing, I dove.
Beautiful
I doubt *as one would) that anyone should go deeper than I have into this poem.
Well done! I always enjoy listening to you read analyze. Hopefully my teaching of the poem in a few weeks will be half as good.
And the poem ends with another anapest. Incredible video!
I hope you do "The Wasteland."
Excellent, thanks very much!
Could it be Eliot is discussing his own sexuality. Upstairs are beds, this would be the place for love making. And the women discuss in their superficial lives. And then this is overlaid with hints of something greater, the Modern condition of a soulless spiritually drowned life. God and Homosexuality are two things that cannot be said. And another the strict social mores the suffocating strictures of that society. I was haunted in my youth (1970's) by these class distinctions.
At the end he longs to break out of his prison, roll his trousers like the uninhibited, but instead he walks on the beach in flannels. And is left alone with his humanity.
Wow a close reading brings out the unexpected beauty (I mean other than the music of the words), it is as if I see for the first time
I think I see that you’re doing here, reading and lecturing to us on the metaphysical poets and helping us understanding the unseen world. Since we all may have grown up only learning about the seen world. Or maybe I’m crazy, anyway, that’s what I’m seeing here with your videos.
Looking forward to Milton
i dont know squat about literature but you are adorable❤