He observes himself objectively and predicts what the people at the party will say. He is Polonius, the pompous attendant who spouts platitudes and functions as a comic foil, or fool. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. Prufrock here explains that he decides not to ask the question, but he does not provide a reason why. But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, I am no prophet—and here's no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my … At this point in the poem, the reader overhears Prufrock’s internal dialogue. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The allusion suggests that some incident at the party made Prufrock afraid to ask for what he wanted. Readers may find themselves, however, wondering how he knows about cheap hotels. The title of the poem provides the best clue to the “overwhelming question.” Prufrock reminds readers that inquiring into other people’s private lives is impolite, a warning perhaps to accept some details as a mystery. Eliot I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid. After failing to ask his question, Prufrock admits his own insignificance. Here, Prufrock switches to the subjunctive mood as he replays the events of the evening. The Waste Land Section I: “The Burial of the Dead”, The Waste Land Section II: “A Game of Chess”, The Waste Land Section III: “The Fire Sermon”, The Waste Land Section IV: “Death by Water”, The Waste Land Section V: “What the Thunder Said”. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems Read more quotes from T.S. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. The head on a platter references John the Baptist, a prophet executed on the whim of Salome, a wicked queen. Prufrock ascends the stairs approaching a room full of women including, readers might assume, the recipient of his overwhelming question. True greatness wouldn’t be over in a moment, nor would it flicker like a candle. “I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, and in short, I was afraid.” ― T.S. Prufrock seems bemused and somewhat self-pitying but not particularly sorrowful or even regretful. “Moment of my greatness” reminds me of “15 minutes of fame”. Prufrock excuses his failure to ask what he should have asked by telling himself that he probably wouldn’t have been understood anyway. I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, It’s past tense, like all of the lines, so the speaker is talking about things that have already happened. And would it have been worth it, after all, After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, He is not Prince Hamlet, the hero of a tragic drama. He reminds himself that he still has time to turn back and also reassures himself that he is properly dressed for the event. Prufrock might be muttering to himself or addressing the reader. In the opening stanza of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the title character invites an unidentified “you” to accompany him to a social occasion. A moment of greatness is ironic. He imagines what could or should have happened and wonders whether that alternate scenario would have been worthwhile. The shift of tense in the last line indicates that whatever happened now exists in Prufrock’s past. The image of the woman “settling a pillow by her head” suggests that Prufrock bores her. He cannot summon the energy to enact a tragedy, so he dismisses the whole episode as one of life’s absurdities.

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