Question

Consider the last 3 stanzas of the poem. What effect does this conclusion produce in the overall poem?

Answer 1

Answer and explanation:

The final stanzas of the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot bring a sad and hard conclusion to the poem. The poem as a whole is a pessimistic one. The speaker, Prufrock, is an unsatisfied man both carnally and spiritually. He is a loner, incapable of establishing relationships and connections with other human beings. He does want and wish for it. But even in his imagination, women despise him and criticize the way he looks and acts. He clearly has a self-esteem issue that, instead of being addressed and treated, only grew worse with time. Now it completely prevents him from living a normal life.

The conclusion of the poem is even more pessimistic. The speaker does not believe he will ever be happy. He compares women and the happiness they represent to mermaids. As we know, in Greek mythology, mermaids would sing to sailors with the purpose of enchanting them. Sailors who heard their song would end up drowning. Prufrock thinks he will drown as well, but when reality wakes him up from the mermaid's dream. The mermaids, after all, do not sing for him. He watches himself growing older, stranger, weaker, more coward and less desirable.