WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The Poetry Fix: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: To Dare or Not to Dare?

Episode Date: September 15, 2024

This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" takes our narrator right up to the entrance of a social engagement, where he wavers between entering and running away. Faced with an anxiety common to the human experience, Prufrock must decide whether or not he will expose himself to the possible judgement of others.

Welcome to the Poetry Fix on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm your host, Erica Kaibah, bringing you your weekly fix of poetry from across time. If you were following the program a few months ago, you may remember that we were studying the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. Today we continue our journey through that poem. As a brief recap, the love song of J. Alfred Prufrock tells the story of a man who wants, wants to pursue his desires but is paralyzed by his fears. The excerpt we will read today begins with a portrait of Proofrock's anxiety, particularly when faced with social situations.

It is as if he is preparing to enter a party or gathering, ultimately making the choice to run away rather than expose himself to social ridicule. He invokes the line, there will be time, using it as an excuse to waver in his decision to participate in the social world. He continually asks himself, do I dare, which raises the question, dare to do what? By the end of the stanza, we find out. Do I dare disturb the universe? Proofrock finally asks himself.

In the literal sense, this conjures the image of Proofrock throwing the door open, attracting the stairs of a room full of people, disturbing the universe. On the metaphorical level, it's as if the social engagement is its own ordered microcosm. Prufrock does not seem to think that he has a place in this social order. He is the disturbance. He is the other. So, why does Prufrock see himself as other? Well, throughout the stanza, he evaluates his physical appearance, his balding hair and thin arms, for example.

He refers to his clothing with what seems to be a note of pride, describing his necktie, rich and modest. You can imagine Prufrock dressing himself, choosing his clothes with care to make the best impression, but as he goes on his way, he begins to imagine how others will react to him. He imagines they will say, but how his arms and legs are thin. Note that it's always what they will say and never what they do say, because Proufrock is not even willing to give them the opportunity to judge him,

accept him, or do whatever they will with him. The reason Proufrock isn't willing is because he is convinced that he knows for certain what would happen if he's, went inside. He describes knowing the voice is dying with a dying fall, that is, the voice is hushing for a beautiful strain of music. He knows the people inside by their voices, and he seems to have some familiarity with their character. Because of this, he declares that he can see the evenings, mornings, afternoons ahead of him, imagining the full extent of his own future. Proofrock has measured out his life in coffee spoons, precisely, without any room for deviation.

He can't imagine a future where he is accepted, so maybe it isn't any wonder that, when faced with the chance to enter a social engagement, he wonders how he should presume to intrude and walks away. With all that said, let's dive in. The Love Song of J. Alfred Proofrock by T.S. Eliot And indeed there will be time to wonder, Do I dare? And do I dare? Time to turn back and descend the stair,

with a bald spot in the middle of my hair. They will say how his hair is growing thin. My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, my necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin. They will say, but how his arms and legs are thin. Do I dare, disturbed, the universe? In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all, have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. I know the voices dying with a dying fall beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume? You've been been listening to The Poetry Fix with Erica Kaiba. If you enjoyed this episode, consider following the Poetry Fix on Spotify, Audible, or Apple Podcasts. Join me next week, and we'll be continuing our journey through the love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.