Poetic Form

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

lines 87-95
(original)
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,
woule it ahve been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all'

(paraphrased)
Is it worth it all?
All the lunch or dinner dates,
with conversation between us two,
Is it worth
to pretend things are okay,
and hold in the pain
and skip all the conflicts
To say: "I am Lazarus, alive again,
come to warn you all."

In contrast with the prose I chose, the original words of this part of the poem tends to put a dramatic effect on the idea of rather love is worth everything at all. The prose version seems too bold and holds weak sentimental value.T.S. Eliot chooses more fancy words to describe components of a relationship such as dates and conflicts. The poet uses personification to inflict a stronger sense of hurt from Prufrock's love story. The word choice and comma pauses hint a portion of personal memory and brings the readers to have a more inner feeling for J. Alfred Prufrock.

This section accompanies Prufrock's story of his miserable love life of growing old. Without this portion, the readers would not know of the past experiences in the relationship of the love story. The past provides understanding to why this man would be in such hesitation, sorrow, and doubt. Most of the poem tells us about Prufrock but this section tells us about his partner and what love is like to him.