Since we read this poem at the beginning of the semester, I have thought back to it again and again. It is one of my favorite poems from the course. I learned the word “solipsism” for the first time during the discussion of this poem, and I think that term applies to all of modernism in one way or another.
I love this poem because I can picture it very vividly in my head. The narrator is an aging man, and the poem chronicles his thoughts as he analyzes himself in the mirror. The ‘you’ he talks to is himself. He stares into his reflection, getting ready to go out to a party. I picture him as someone just on the edge of high society: too wealthy to be excluded from exclusive social events, but not rich enough to be acknowledged or safe from society’s critical eyes. Prufrock knows all the people at the party because they are always the same people.
I think this story would make an excellent short film. I thought about trying to film it for my final project, but I didn’t have the resources or the movie-making talent to do it justice. I would love to see it filmed starting with Prufrock in front of the mirror. After that, it would fade from this image slowly. A lavish party scene would fade in, with the silhouette of Prufock’s reflection still in the background. The party scenes would be a different tone or a little blurrier than the mirror scenes to show it is a daydream. Once Prufrock’s reflection faded out of the scene, I would film the party as if the camera was mounted on his forehead, so the viewers could see everything exactly as he did. I wouldn’t show his face at all except in the mirror.
The reason I think this would make a great film is the way Eliot writes. The language he uses and the way he structured the poem made me feel everything Prufrock felt. I was (obviously) able to picture the whole thing in my head, and I got a real sense of the situation. Phrases like “pinned and wriggling on the wall” create a tangible feeling of the discomfort and near panic that Prufrock feels in his position in life. His question of “do I dare disturb the universe?” shows how monumental of a feat it would be for him to change who he is and break out of the shell he spends his life in. This story reminds me a little of the last one we read, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” because both the characters live their lives completely in their heads. The only difference is Prufrock’s dissatisfaction with himself; Walter Mitty seems content to live in his head.
There are some great allusions in this poem too, like the beginning passage, the reference to Hamlet, and the mention of Michelangelo. These add a level of sophistication to the poem, showing that both Eliot and Prufrock are well educated.
Even when I am writing this blog, months after first reading the poem, I feel so strongly for Prufrock that I wish I could reach out, touch him on the shoulder, and tell him to live his life in a way that will make him happy, before it’s too late.
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