Eliot

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Before You Read

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Meet T. S. Eliot
(18881965)
. S. Eliot revolutionized poetry more than

any other twentieth-century writer. His
experiments in language and form and his
introduction of the scenes and concerns of everyday life into poetry changed literary tastes and
influenced future poets.
Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, into a distinguished family that provided him with the best
education available. In 1906 he matriculated at
Harvard, where he steeped himself in literature and
published his first poems. At Harvard, he studied
under Irving Babbitt, the New Humanist critic of
Romanticism, who helped Eliot develop his taste
for classicism in literature. Eliot then studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, at Harvard, and
at Oxford. He eventually settled in England.
The First Modernist Poet In his youth, Eliot was
influenced by the French Symbolists. In England,
he met Ezra Pound, another American
expatriate. Pound had an even stronger influence on Eliot. He championed Eliots writing and served as
his editor. In 1915 Pound persuaded
Poetry magazine to publish The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Often
called the first Modernist poem,
Prufrock captures the emptiness and alienation many people experienced while living
in impersonal modern cities.
The poem baffled and angered
many readers, who found its
subject matter unpoetic,
its fragmented structure
off-putting, and its
allusions
difficult to
understand.
666 U N I T 5
Bettmann/CORBIS
The outbreak of World War I prevented Eliots

return to Harvard for his final doctoral examinations. He remained in England, where he married
Vivien Haigh-Wood, taught school, and worked
for Lloyds Bank. He also continued to write poetry
and literary essays. His best-known work, The
Waste Land, was published in 1922; in it he
expresses the disillusionment that many people
felt after World War I and decries the inability to
find meaning and purpose in life. The work
brought him international acclaim, but not happiness. Eliot was facing great strain in his marriage
and in his job.
Genuine poetry can communicate

before it is understood.
T. S. Eliot
Finding a Purpose Eventually, Eliot began a
new, more satisfying career as a book editor and

joined the Church of England. In Christianity he
found a purpose in life, and in his poems, such as
The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four
Quartets, he described the importance and difficulty of belief in a spiritually impoverished world.
Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature in
1948. His poetry has been praised for the power of
its symbolism, its precise language, and its mastery
of form. At the time of his death in 1965, Eliot
was considered by many to be the most important
and influential poet and critic writing in the
English language.
B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE
Literature Online
Author Search For more about T. S. Eliot, go to
glencoe.com and enter QuickPass code GLA9800u5.
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Learning Objectives
Literature and Reading Preview

Connect to the Poem
In Eliots poem, the speaker asks himself, Do I dare? about
several things. Do you ever ask yourself that same question?
How do you answer? Discuss this subject with a partner or
small group.
Build Background
When Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, cities
were growing at a rapid rate. In many countries, city dwellers
outnumbered those inhabiting rural areas. Factories overran
residential neighborhoods, and people crowded into huge tenement buildings. Factory owners amassed great wealth at the
expense of workers who toiled under miserable conditions. In
his poems, Eliot expressed the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and frustration that came with these changes.
Set Purposes for Reading

Big Idea
New Poetics
As you read, ask yourself, In what ways does Eliot reject some
of the conventions of traditional poetry?
Literary Element
Allusion
An allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or

a situation from history, art, music, or literature. For example,
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock can be seen as an
extended allusion to Dantes Inferno. By quoting Dante in the
epigraph, Eliot suggests that Prufrocks journey with a companion through the streets of London to the room is similar to
the journey that Dante and Virgil make through the underworld
to the center of hell. As you read, ask yourself, What purpose
do Eliots allusions serve?
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural Context
A piece of writing is more meaningful to you when you place

it in its cultural context. Think about the society in which the
writer lived, the technologies that surrounded the writer, and the
historical forces that influenced the writers choice of subject
matter, point of view, and tone. Prufrock, like much of Eliots
work, is set in the cultural context of Englands upper-middleclass society in London before, during, and after World War I.
For pages 666674

In studying this text, you will
focus on the following
objectives:
Literary Study: Analyzing
allusion.
Reading: Connecting to
cultural context.
Vocabulary
tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome

because of length; boring;
p. 668 After an hour, my uncles
talk on fly fishing became tedious.
presume (pri zoom) v. to expect
something without justification;
to take for granted; p. 670; The
employee presumed she would be
promoted because her boss liked her.
digress (d gres) v. to depart
from the main subject; to ramble;
p. 670 The teacher digressed by
telling the class amusing anecdotes.
malinger (m ling gr) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to
avoid work; p. 670 To avoid Eva,
John malingered, staying home.
deferential (def ren shl) adj.
yielding to someone elses opinions or wishes; p. 672 Sam was
always deferential toward his father.
T. S. ELI O T
667
Sio credessi che mia resposta fosse

a persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
questa fiamma staria senza pi scosse.
Ma per ci che giammai di questo fondo
non torn vivo alcun, siodo il vero,
senza tema dinfamia ti respondo.1
Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised2 upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
New Poetics How is this simile an example of Modernism in

poetry?
Vocabulary
tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome because of length; boring
668 U N I T 5
Collection of the Newark Museum. Anonymous gift, 1929. (cat. No. 55)/Art Resource, NY
Winter Night, 1928. Stefan Hirsch. Oil on panel,

221/2 x 19 3/4 in. Collection of the Newark Museum.
1. The epigraph is from

Dantes Inferno, Canto
XXVII, in which a
condemned spirit in hell
confesses his sins. He says,
If I thought that I was
speaking / to someone
who would go back to the
world, / this flame would
shake no more. / But since
nobody has ever / gone
back alive from this place,
if what I hear is true, / I
answer you without fear
of infamy.
2. Etherised (etherized)
(e
th rzd) means
anesthetized with ether,
as before an operation;
in other words, made
insensitive to pain.
e
T. S. Eliot
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10
To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .

Oh, do not ask, What is it?
Let us go and make our visit.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.3
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3. Michelangelo Buonarroti
(m k l an j lo bw n
r te)
(14751564) was a
gifted Italian sculptor and
painter.
e
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

Talking of Michelangelo.
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,4 my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted5 by a simple pin
(They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin!)
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
4. A morning coat is a mans

jacket that slopes away
from a front button at the
waist to tails at the back.
It was worn for formal
daytime dress.
5. Here, asserted means
made more bold or
enhanced.
Connect to Cultural Context What is the cultural difference between this room
and the streets through which Prufrock has traveled?
New Poetics How does Eliot disregard traditional poetic elements in these lines?
What traditional element does he keep?
T. S. ELI O T
669
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In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
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?
And I have known the eyes already, known them all
The eyes that fix you in a formulated6 phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?
And I have known the arms already, known them all
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)?
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? . . .
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep . . . tired . . . or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Connect to Cultural Context What does this metaphor tell the reader about the
society that Prufrock inhabits?
Vocabulary
presume (pri zoom) v. to expect something without justification; to take for granted
digress (d gres) v. to depart from the main subject; to ramble
malinger (m ling gr) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to avoid work
670 U N I T 5
6. Formulated means
reduced to or expressed
as a formula, thereby
losing individuality.
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Rainy Night, 19291930.

Charles Burchfield.
Watercolor, 30 x 42 in.
San Diego Museum of Art,
CA. Gift of Anne R. and
Amy Putnam.
85
90
95
100
Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in

upon a platter7
I am no prophet8and heres no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman9 hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.
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,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming question,
To say: I am Lazarus, come from the dead,10
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: That is not what I meant at all.
That is not it, at all.
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
7. [head . . . platter] This

biblical reference is to
the beheading of the
prophet John the Baptist
(Matthew 14:111). King
Herod was so pleased
with the dancing of
Salome, his stepdaughter,
that he promised her
anything she desired.
Prompted by her mother,
Salome asked for the
head of John on a platter.
Herod granted her
request.
8. A prophet is a person
who predicts the future
or who speaks by divine
inspiration.
9. The eternal Footman
is Death.
10. [I am Lazarus . . . dead]
This biblical reference is
to John 11:1 44 in
which Jesus restores his
friend Lazarus to life after
he has been dead for
four days.
Allusion Although he claims not to be a prophet, Prufrock compares himself to John the
Baptist. In what sense does Prufrock envision his head brought in upon a platter?
Connect to Cultural Context How does this symbol characterize the cultural context
of the poem?
T. S. ELI O T
San Diego Museum of Art. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam
671
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After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along
the floor
And this, and so much more?
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
105
110
115
But as if a magic lantern11 threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.
11. The magic lantern, a

forerunner of the modern
slide projector, was a
device for projecting
enlarged images.
No! I am not Prince Hamlet,12 nor was meant to be;

Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress,13 start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic,14 cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;15
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous
Almost, at times, the Fool.
12. Prince Hamlet is the

Prince of Denmark, the
tragic hero of
Shakespeares play
Hamlet.
13. To swell a progress is to
participate in, and
thereby increase (swell)
the number of people in
a royal procession or a
play.
14. Politic (po l tik) means
characterized by
prudence or shrewdness
in managing, dealing, or
promoting a policy.
15. High sentence is fancy,
pompous speech full of
advice, like that of the
old counselor Polonius in
s)
Hamlet. Obtuse ( b too
means slow in
understanding or dull.
e
I grow old . . . I grow old . . .

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
125
I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
130
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
Allusion What does this allusion tell the reader about how Prufrock sees himself?
New Poetics How is this line an example of the new poetics of Modernism?
Vocabulary
deferential (def ren shl) adj. yielding to someone elses opinions or wishes
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After You Read

Respond and Think Critically
Respond and Interpret
Analyze and Evaluate
1. What image does the name J. Alfred Prufrock

conjure up for you? How does Prufrock, as his
character and personality are expressed
throughout the poem, illustrate this image?
5. In lines 2627, what does Prufrock mean when

he says that there will be time To prepare a
face to meet the faces that you meet?
2. (a)In lines 19, what do the images Prufrock

uses to describe the evening and the places he
will travel through evoke? (b)What do the
images suggest about his state of mind?
3. (a)What kinds of activities does Prufrock say he
will have time for in lines 2648? (b)What does
he mean by Do I dare/Disturb the universe?
4. (a)How does Prufrock describe himself and his
life in lines 4974? (b)What does Prufrocks
description of his life suggest about his personal
self-assessment?
6. What, in your opinion, is Prufrocks overwhelming question (lines 10, 93)?

7. (a)What do the mermaids (124130) suggest
about Prufrocks state of mind? (b)What is the
function of the final line of the poem?
Connect
8.
Big Idea New Poetics (a)How does this

love song dier from traditional love poetry?
(b)How is the title of the poem ironic?
9. Connect to Today What aspects of life cause

alienation and frustration today? Explain.
Visual Literacy
Fine Art
Study the painting Rainy Night at right. (A
larger version appears on page 671.) Charles
Burchfield (18931967) painted this work in
1930. It is representative of the second phase
of the artists career, when he painted scenes
depicting the bleakness of city life.
1. What is your overall impression of the painting? Cite details in the painting that contribute to your impression.
2. Which images or lines from The Love Song
of J. Alfred Prufrock might you use to
describe this painting? Explain.
Rainy Night, 19291930. Charles Burchfield. Watercolor,

30 x 42 in. San Diego Museum of Art, CA. Gift of Anne R.
and Amy Putnam.
T. S. ELI O T
673
(l) Getty Images (r) San Diego Museum of Art. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam.
Literary Element
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Allusion
An allusion can add richness and depth to a work of

literature through its association of ideas. For example, lines 9293 contain an allusion to Andrew
Marvells poem To His Coy Mistress, in which the
speaker says, Let us roll all our strength and all / Our
sweetness into one ball, / And tear our pleasures
with rough strife / Through the iron gates of life. This
allusion is ironic because Prufrock, after squeezing
the universe into a ball, is unable to roll it towards
some overwhelming question.
Reading Strategy
The lines In the room the women come and go/

Talking of Michelangelo (lines 1314, 3536) refers
to the great Italian Renaissance painter.
1. What can you infer about these women?
2. Why do you think that the lines are repeated?
What can you infer from this repetition about
the nature of the womens conversations?
1. In the allusion to Shakespeare in lines 111

119, why does Prufrock claim he is not Prince
Hamlet?
2. In the poem, Prufrock makes allusions to John
the Baptist, Lazarus, and Hamlet. What do these
characters have in common? How do they
relate to Prufrock?
3. In your opinion, what is the overall effect of
Eliots use of allusions in this poem?
Review: Dramatic Monologue

As you learned on page 515, a dramatic monologue
is an extended speech by a literary character to a
silent listener. When that silent listener is the reader,
the speech takes the form of an interior monologue,
also known as stream of consciousness, a term first
used by the psychologist William James to describe
the spontaneous flow of a persons random thoughts
and feelings. Some readers have interpreted
Prufrock as a stream-of-consciousness monologue
in which Prufrock addresses his alter ego, or the
opposite side of his personality.
Partner Activity Meet with a classmate and talk
about the function of the dramatic monologue in
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Address
these questions during your discussion:
1. Who is the you in line 1?
2. What is the relationship between the you in
the poem and the you in the epigraph from
Dantes Inferno?
3. Does Prufrock maintain the same tone throughout the poem? Explain.
674 U N I T 5
Connect to Cultural
Context
Vocabulary Practice
Practice with Antonyms An antonym is a
word that has a meaning opposite to that of
another word. With a partner, match each boldfaced vocabulary word below with its antonym.
You will not use all the answer choices. Use a
thesaurus or dictionary to check your answers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
tedious
presume
digress
malinger
deferential
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
focus
persevere
candid
pretend
interesting
disobedient
know
Academic Vocabulary
In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot
comments on the hopelessness of modern life.
Comment is an academic word. A reporter
looking for a quotation for a story might take
notes as a politician comments on an election.
To further explore the meaning of this word,
answer the following question: If you were to
write a poem similar to this one about modern
life, how would you comment on your world?
For more on academic vocabulary, see pages
5354.
Literature Online
Selection Resources For Selection Quizzes, eFlashcards, and Reading-Writing Connection activities, go to
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Learning Objectives
Respond Through Writing
In this assignment, you will

objectives:
Writing: Writing a short story.
Short Story
Grammar: Correcting run-on

sentences.
Apply Mood Write a short story narrated from the rst-person point
of view of a modern-day teen Prufrock. Decide whether you want your
readers to feel sympathy for your character. Keep that purpose in mind
as you write, selecting an appropriate tone, mood, and language.
Grammar Tip
Understand the Task Tone is the writers attitude toward the subject
or audience, as conveyed through elements such as word choice, punctuation, sentence structure, and gures of speech. Mood is the general
emotional quality of a piece of writing.
Prewrite What kind of life would Prufrock live if he were a modern-day
teenager? Brainstorm a list of events that might happen during a normal
day in his life. Then choose the events you think would most strongly
illustrate his character. Next, make a list of words and phrases that your
character would use in reacting and responding to these events.
Draft As you draft your story, present events in a logical sequence.
Make sure each event you describe contributes to the overall mood you
want to create, and that each is consistent with the impression you want
your audience to have of your character. Remember to also use concrete sensory details to describe the characters specic movements and
thoughts. To plan your story, make a chart like the one below:
Events
Characters
responses/thoughts
Effects on mood
Opportunity to
audition for school
play
Its pointless; I
might embarass
myself
Creates feeling of
bleakness
Run-on Sentences
I arrived at the test I did not

want to go through with it.
This is a run-on sentence,
because two sentences are
joined without a transition.
One solution: change one
sentence to a subordinate
clause: When I arrived at the
test, I did not want to go

through with it. You can also
join the sentences using a
coordinating conjunction: I
arrived at the test, but I did

not want to go through with it.
Revise Exchange stories with a classmate. After reading each others

work, discuss whether each of you was successful in your writing purpose. If not, discuss revisions you might make to strengthen your story.
Edit and Proofread Proofread your paper, correcting any errors in
spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Review the Grammar Tip in the side
column for help avoiding run-on sentences.
T. S. ELI O T
675
Before You Read
Before You Read
Focus
Bellringer Options
Meet T. S. Eliot
Literature Launchers:
Pre-Reading Videos DVD,
Selection Launcher
Selection Focus
Transparency 41
Daily Language Practice
Transparency 58
Or have students discuss what
they know about love songs.
Ask: What are some common characteristics of love
songs? What are some dierent
themes in love songs?
Have students consider, as they
read, to what extent those characteristics appear in The Love Song
of J. Alfred Prufrock.
Literary History S
Poetry Founded in 1912, Poetry
magazine was devoted entirely
to the publication and criticism
of new poetry. Many poets of the
early twentieth century were rst
published in this magazine.
(18881965)
The outbreak of World War I prevented Eliots

return to Harvard for his final doctoral examinations. He remained in England, where he married
Vivien Haigh-Wood, taught school, and worked
for Lloyds Bank. He also continued to write poetry
and literary essays. His best-known work, The
Waste Land, was published in 1922; in it he
expresses the disillusionment that many people
felt after World War I and decries the inability to
find meaning and purpose in life. The work
brought him international acclaim, but not happiness. Eliot was facing great strain in his marriage
and in his job.
SE Facsimile
Placeholder
. S. Eliot revolutionized poetry more than

any other twentieth-century writer. His
experiments in language and form and his
introduction of the scenes and concerns of everyday life into poetry changed literary tastes and
influenced future poets.
Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, into a distinguished family that provided him with the best
education available. In 1906 he matriculated at
Harvard, where he steeped himself in literature and
published his first poems. At Harvard, he studied
under Irving Babbitt, the New Humanist critic of
Romanticism, who helped Eliot develop his taste
for classicism in literature. Eliot then studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, at Harvard, and
at Oxford. He eventually settled in England.
Place SE @ 80.5%
Click on
Center Content button
Move image
down 10 points
The First Modernist Poet In his youth, Eliot was
influenced by the French Symbolists. In England,

he met Ezra Pound, another American
expatriate. Pound had an even stronger influence on Eliot. He championed Eliots writing and served as
his editor. In 1915 Pound persuaded
Poetry magazine to publish The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Often
called the first Modernist poem,
Prufrock captures the emptiness and alienation many people experienced while living
in impersonal modern cities.
The poem baffled and angered
many readers, who found its
subject matter unpoetic,
its fragmented structure
off-putting, and its
allusions
difficult to
understand.
Genuine poetry can communicate

before it is understood.
T. S. Eliot
Finding a Purpose Eventually, Eliot began a

new, more satisfying career as a book editor and
joined the Church of England. In Christianity he
found a purpose in life, and in his poems, such as
The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four
Quartets, he described the importance and difficulty of belief in a spiritually impoverished world.
Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature in

1948. His poetry has been praised for the power of
its symbolism, its precise language, and its mastery
of form. At the time of his death in 1965, Eliot
was considered by many to be the most important
and influential poet and critic writing in the
English language.
Literature Online
Author Search For more about T. S. Eliot, go to
0000 UFNOI TOTE

666
5 R BE GI NNI NGS OF THE MOD E RN AGE
Selection Skills
Literary Elements
Allusion (SE pp. 667, 671, 672, 674)
Dramatic Monologue (SE p. 674)
Vocabulary Skills
Antonyms (SE p. 674)
Analogies (TE p. 667)
666
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
Reading Skills
Connect to Cultural Context (SE pp.
667, 669671, 674)
Sequence (TE p. 668)
Personal Response (TE p. 672)
Writing Skills/Grammar
Short Story (SE p. 675)
Run-on Sentences (SE p. 675)
Mood of Verbs (TE p. 670)
Listening/Speaking/
Viewing Skills
Analyze Art (SE p. 673;
TE pp. 668, 671)
Learning Objectives
Literature and Reading Preview
For pages 666674
Connect to the Poem

In Eliots poem, the speaker asks himself, Do I dare? about
several things. Do you ever ask yourself that same question?
How do you answer? Discuss this subject with a partner or
small group.
Build Background
In studying this text, you will

objectives:
Focus

allusion.
Summary
cultural context.
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When Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, cities

were growing at a rapid rate. In many countries, city dwellers
outnumbered those inhabiting rural areas. Factories overran
residential neighborhoods, and people crowded into huge tenement buildings. Factory owners amassed great wealth at the
expense of workers who toiled under miserable conditions. In
his poems, Eliot expressed the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and frustration that came with these changes.

Big Idea
New Poetics
Vocabulary
tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome

because of length; boring;
p. 668 After an hour, my uncles
talk on fly fishing became tedious.

to take for granted; p. 670 The
employee presumed she would be
promoted because her boss liked her.
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As you read, ask yourself, In what ways does Eliot reject some
of the conventions of traditional poetry?
Literary Element
Allusion
An allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or

a situation from history, art, music, or literature. For example,
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock can be seen as an
extended allusion to Dantes Inferno. By quoting Dante in the
epigraph, Eliot suggests that Prufrocks journey with a companion through the streets of London to the room is similar to
the journey that Dante and Virgil make through the underworld
to the center of hell. As you read, ask yourself, What purpose
do Eliots allusions serve?
Reading Strategy
Before You Read
A piece of writing is more meaningful to you when you place

it in its cultural context. Think about the society in which the
writer lived, the technologies that surrounded the writer, and the
historical forces that influenced the writers choice of subject
matter, point of view, and tone. Prufrock, like much of Eliots
work, is set in the cultural context of Englands upper-middleclass society in London before, during, and after World War I.
digress (d gres) v. to depart

from the main subject; to ramble;
p. 670 The teacher digressed by
telling the class amusing anecdotes.
malinger (m ling gr) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to
avoid work; p. 670 To avoid Eva,
John malingered, staying home.
yielding to someone elses opinions or wishes; p. 672 Sam was
always deferential toward his father.
As the character of J. Alfred Prufrock is developed, he is revealed

to be a person of low self-esteem
who is an observer of life rather
than an active participant in it.
For summaries in languages other
than English, see Unit 5 Teaching
Resources Book, pp. 3540.
Vocabulary
Analogies
Tell students that

antonyms often appear in word
analogies, or groups of words that
are related in the same ways. For
example: cold : hot :: insidious :
honest. Ask: Which vocabulary
word best completes this analogy: up : down :: disrespect? (deferential) Which
ful :
vocabulary word best completes
this analogy: back : forward ::
focus :
? (digress)
For additional vocabulary practice,

see Unit 5 Teaching Resources
Book, p. 43.
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Interactive Read and Write
Approaching Level
Other options for teaching this

selection can be found in
DI F F ER E NTIATED I N STR UCTION
Interactive Read and Write for

EL Students, pp. 179188
Established Explain to students that

when writers make allusions, they expect
the readers to recognize these references. To prepare students to read the
poem, write the following references in
idea webs on the board: Dantes Inferno,
Michelangelo, John the Baptist, Lazarus,
and Hamlet. Ask students to tell what they
already know about each term, and record
the information in the radiating circles.
As students read, they can use the side

column notes and information from class
discussions to add to these webs.
Interactive Read and Write for

Approaching-Level Students,
pp. 179188
Interactive Read and Write
for On-Level Students,
pp. 179188
667
Teach
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural
Context Explain that Dantes
epigraph prepares readers for a
literary journey to hell. Remind students that World War I was fought
between 1914 and 1918. Eliots
poem was published in 1919.
Ask: What might Eliot be saying
about the eect of World War I
on modern life? (Possible answer:
World War I created a kind of
hell on Earth because people felt
disenchanted, spiritually dead, and
isolated.)
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Big Idea
New Poetics Answer:
It
captures the emptiness and sense
of isolation many people feel in an
impersonal modern city.
S
Although born in Nuremberg, Germany, Stefan Hirsch (18991964)
was considered an American artist.
Ask: How does Hirschs painting
capture the mood of the opening lines of the poem? (Possible
answer: The dark colors and shadows capture the ominous feelings
expressed in the opening lines.)
668

senza tema dinfamia ti respondo.1

Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
New Poetics How is this simile an example of Modernism in

poetry?
Vocabulary
tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome because of length; boring
Winter Night, 1928. Stefan Hirsch. Oil on panel,

221/2 x 19 3/4 in. Collection of the Newark Museum.
1. The epigraph is from

Dantes Inferno, Canto
XXVII, in which a
condemned spirit in hell
confesses his sins. He says,
If I thought that I was
speaking / to someone
who would go back to the
world, / this flame would
shake no more. / But since
nobody has ever / gone
back alive from this place,
if what I hear is true, / I
answer you without fear
of infamy.
2. Etherised (etherized)
(e
th rzd) means
anesthetized with ether,
as before an operation;
in other words, made
insensitive to pain.
e
T. S. Eliot
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668
Reading Practice
SMALL GROUP
Sequence Point out some ways

in which Eliot links the seemingly
disparate stanzas in this poem. Examples:
the words In the room (line 13) answer
the question of where the speaker intends
to visit (line 12). Lines 1522 extend the
description of evening in lines 23. Line
37 picks up the idea of time, repeating
line 23. Tell students that understanding the links will help them understand
the structure of the poem. Have students work in pairs to identify other links
between phrases and lines in the poem.
Encourage them to create sequence
chains that show how the phrases and
lines connect.
Teach
To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .

3. Michelangelo Buonarroti
(m k l an j lo bw n
r te)
(14751564) was a
gifted Italian sculptor and
painter.
e
15
20
25
10
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30
35
40
45
Literary Element
Metaphor
Discuss the metaphor developed in lines 1522.

Ask: What animal is the fog
and smoke compared to?
(a cat) How does this metaphor
compare with the simile of the
tedious argument of insidious
intent in lines 89? (Both imply
stealth and furtiveness.) What
emotion does this metaphor
evoke? (fear)


Do I dare
4. A morning coat is a mans

jacket that slopes away
from a front button at the
waist to tails at the back.
It was worn for formal
daytime dress.
5. Here, asserted means
made more bold or
enhanced.
Connect to Cultural Context What is the cultural difference between this room
and the streets through which Prufrock has traveled?
New Poetics How does Eliot disregard traditional poetic elements in these lines?
What traditional element does he keep?
5
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Approaching Level
DI F F ER E NTIATED I N STR UCTION
SMALL GROUP
Emerging Provide student pairs

with two-column charts. Make the
rst column heading What do we know
about . . . and the second column
Answers. Fill in these completions for the
question in the rst row:
. . . the streets?
. . . Prufrockboth physically and
emotionally?
. . . Prufrocks companion?
. . . the room?
. . . the people in the room?
Have the students reread the poem and
record the answers to these questions in
the second column using textual support.
Have each pair share their information
aloud with the class.
For additional literary element

practice, see Unit 5 Teaching Resources Book, p. 41.
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural
Context Answer: The room
is lled with cultured conversation,
unlike the seedy cheap hotels
and sawdust restaurants.
AP P ROAC H I N G Ask: What is the
dierence between the people
who attend a tea party to talk
about art and the people who
go to one-night cheap hotels
and sawdust restaurants?
Big Idea
New Poetics Answer:
The
lines are of irregular length and
rhythm; the phrase there will be
time is repeated not as a refrain
but as a nagging reminder. The
use of rhyme (street/meet) is
traditional but is not part of a conventional rhyme scheme.
669
Teach
Reading Strategy

50
Draw Conclusions Have students discuss the meaning of lines

7374. Ask: What is Prufrocks
opinion of himself? What image
reveals that opinion? (The image
of a scuttling ocean creature
reveals that Prufrock has low selfesteem.) Ask: What emotion
does this image evoke in readers
toward Prufrock? (pity)
55
60
65
70
Reading Strategy
2
75
Connect to Cultural
Context Answer: The people
in the society that Prufrock inhabits are consumed by tedious and
trivial rituals.
80

SE Facsimile
Placeholder

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? . . .
Asleep . . . tired . . . or it malingers,
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1
Connect to Cultural Context What does this metaphor tell the reader about the
society that Prufrock inhabits?
Vocabulary
presume (pri zoom) v. to expect something without justification; to take for granted
digress (d gres) v. to depart from the main subject; to ramble
malinger (m ling gr) v. to pretend incapacity or illness to avoid work
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670
Grammar Practice
Mood of Verbs Point out that in
addition to tense and voice, verbs
also express mood. The two most
common are the indicative mood and the
imperative mood. The indicative makes a
statement or asks a question. The imperative gives a command. Write these examples on the board:
SPIRAL
REVIEW
670
6. Formulated means
reduced to or expressed
as a formula, thereby
losing individuality.
Indicative: So how should I presume?

Imperative: Oh, do not ask, What is it?
Have students list other examples of
indicative and imperative verbs in The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
Teach
Rainy Night, 19291930.
Charles Burchfield.
Watercolor, 30 x 42 in.
San Diego Museum of Art,
CA. Gift of Anne R. and
Amy Putnam.
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upon a platter7
7. [head . . . platter] This

biblical reference is to
the beheading of the
prophet John the Baptist
(Matthew 14:111). King
Herod was so pleased
with the dancing of
Salome, his stepdaughter,
that he promised her
anything she desired.
Prompted by her mother,
Salome asked for the
head of John on a platter.
Herod granted her
request.
8. A prophet is a person
who predicts the future
or who speaks by divine
inspiration.
9. The eternal Footman
is Death.
10. [I am Lazarus . . . dead]
This biblical reference is
to John 11:1 44 in
which Jesus restores his
friend Lazarus to life after
he has been dead for
four days.
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85
90
95
100


Allusion Although he claims not to be a prophet, Prufrock compares himself to John the
Baptist. In what sense does Prufrock envision his head brought in upon a platter?
Connect to Cultural Context How does this symbol characterize the cultural context
of the poem?
Literary Element
Allusion Answer:
In his morbid self-consciousness, Prufrock

imagines his bald head being displayed for the amusement of the
guests at the tea party. Perhaps he
feels as vulnerable to a womans
scorn as John the Baptist turned
out to be.
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural
Context Answer: The snickering eternal Footman is Eliots
symbol for death. Prufrock imagines that, in the shallow culture
of upper class London, even the
servants would be amused by his
inconsequential death.
S
The American painter Charles
Burcheld (18931967) used his
paintings to express his feelings
about his surroundings.
Ask: How does the artist reveal
his feelings about the setting?
(The dark colors and shadows
reveal a gloomy, uneasy setting.)
4
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Advanced Learners
DI F F ER ENTIATED I N STR U C T IO N
Dramatic Monologue Tell students that

this poem is a dramatic monologue. The
speaker reveals his own character through
his speech. Throughout the monologue,
the listener remains silent. Ask: Is the
listener the reader or a character? Is the
listener real or imagined? Tell students to
answer the questions using evidence from
the poem. Then, have students write and

deliver an original dramatic monologue in
prose or verse from the point of view of
Prufrocks listener.
671
Teach
1
105
Allusion Answer:
Prufrock
does not see himself as a heroic
gure like Hamlet but as a foolish
and ridiculous gure.
A P P ROAC H I N G Explain that Prufrock understands life to be similar
to a stage play. Some people
such as Hamlet are heroes; some
people such as Polonius are needless advisors; and some people
such as Prufrock are fools.
New Poetics Answer:
115
120
The
line undercuts any sense of

romance in the image of the
mermaids. Although it is a perfect
example of iambic pentameter, it
is not part of any overall metrical
pattern; it stands alone.
Ask: How is the form of this
poem dierent from the forms of
poems from earlier time periods?
(Possible answer: The stanzas are
of unequal length, and rhyme and
meter are used irregularly.)
To check students understanding
of the selection, see Unit 5 Teaching Resources Book, p. 45.
11. The magic lantern, a

forerunner of the modern
slide projector, was a
device for projecting
enlarged images.

12. Prince Hamlet is the

Prince of Denmark, the
tragic hero of
Shakespeares play
Hamlet.
13. To swell a progress is to
participate in, and
thereby increase (swell)
the number of people in
a royal procession or a
play.
14. Politic (po l tik) means
characterized by
prudence or shrewdness
in managing, dealing, or
promoting a policy.
15. High sentence is fancy,
pompous speech full of
advice, like that of the
old counselor Polonius in
s)
Hamlet. Obtuse ( b too
means slow in
understanding or dull.
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e
Big Idea
110

I grow old . . . I grow old . . .


125

130

Allusion What does this allusion tell the reader about how Prufrock sees himself?
New Poetics How is this line an example of the new poetics of Modernism?
Vocabulary
deferential (def ren shl) adj. yielding to someone elses opinions or wishes
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Reading Practice
Personal Response Participants are
active readers who interact with texts;
spectators are passive readers. When
asked to write a personal response, a
participant has diculty choosing among
various responses, and a spectator has difculty nding something to say.
Ask students to write personal responses
to the poem, using at least one of the
672
following active-reading strategies: listen,

imagine, clarify, interpret.
Encourage students to develop a question related to each strategy to guide
them as they write.
Have student volunteers share their
personal responses to the poem with the
class.
Literary Element
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along
the floor
After You Read
After You Read
Assess
Respond and Think Critically

Respond and Interpret
Analyze and Evaluate
1. What image does the name J. Alfred Prufrock

conjure up for you? How does Prufrock, as his
character and personality are expressed
throughout the poem, illustrate this image?
5. In lines 2627, what does Prufrock mean when

he says that there will be time To prepare a
face to meet the faces that you meet?
SE Facsimile
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2. (a)In lines 19, what do the images Prufrock

uses to describe the evening and the places he
will travel through evoke? (b)What do the
images suggest about his state of mind?
3. (a)What kinds of activities does Prufrock say he
will have time for in lines 2648? (b)What does
he mean by Do I dare/Disturb the universe?
4. (a)How does Prufrock describe himself and his

life in lines 4974? (b)What does Prufrocks
description of his life suggest about his personal
self-assessment?
6. What, in your opinion, is Prufrocks overwhelming question (lines 10, 93)?

7. (a)What do the mermaids (124130) suggest
about Prufrocks state of mind? (b)What is the
function of the final line of the poem?
Connect
8.
Big Idea New Poetics (a)How does this

love song dier from traditional love poetry?
(b)How is the title of the poem ironic?
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9. Connect to Today What aspects of life cause

alienation and frustration today? Explain.
Fine Art
Study the painting Rainy Night at right. (A

larger version appears on page 671.) Charles
Burchfield (18931967) painted this work in
1930. It is representative of the second phase
of the artists career, when he painted scenes
depicting the bleakness of city life.
1. What is your overall impression of the painting? Cite details in the painting that contribute to your impression.
2. Which images or lines from The Love Song
of J. Alfred Prufrock might you use to
describe this painting? Explain.
Rainy Night, 19291930. Charles Burchfield. Watercolor,

30 x 42 in. San Diego Museum of Art, CA. Gift of Anne R.
and Amy Putnam.
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673
Fine Art
1. Possible answer: It is sad and
depressing. Students may cite the
rainy street, the gloomy colors, and
the lack of much human activity.
2. Possible answers: the evening is
spread out against the sky; halfdeserted streets
For additional assessment, see Assessment Resources, pp. 189190.
1. The name is stuy and comical.

Prufrock is indecisive, insecure,
afraid of aging.
2. (a) Sickliness, loneliness, and
sordidness (b) He sees himself
as a helpless patient, traveling
hopelessly through life.
3. (a) Preparing a face; murdering and creating; indecisions,
visions, and revisions; wondering Do I dare?; turning
back and descending the stair
(b) Any expression of truth or
strong emotion would disturb
the shallow inhabitants of his
social universe.
4. (a) He cannot begin or presume to express himself or
declare love, and fears becoming one of the lonely men in
shirt-sleeves. (b) He is unable
to improve his dreary life.
5. He means that there will
be time to create a supercial face to make a good
impression.
6. A question about lifes meaning
7. (a) He has an erotic fantasy
about the mermaids, but he
fears they will not sing to him.
(b) It sums up Prufrocks life
viewwe live trivial, purposeless
lives, and then we die.
8. (a)The poem is not traditional
because the speaker cannot
make a declaration of love. (b)
His love song is actually a
lament that expresses his inability to express his feelings.
9. Students may say people in cities are isolated from their neighbors and that the intrusion of
technology into daily life causes
frustration for some people.
673
After You Read
Assess
Literary Element
1. Prufrock feels that he is not the
hero of his own life. He does
not have the rank of a prince,
and although Hamlet eventually
acts, Prufrock does not.
2. John, Lazarus, and Hamlet are
impressive gures who are
taken seriously. They contrast
with Prufrock, who is unable to
rise above mediocrity.
3. The allusions add richness and
complexity to the poem and
enlarge its artistic compass.
Review: Dramatic
Monologue
1. Possible answers: the reader of
the poem; Prufrocks alter ego;
an unidentied companion
2. The you in the epigraph refers
to Dante and Virgil, to whom
the speaker condes. The use of
you in line 1 therefore implies
that Prufrock will similarly conde in the reader.
3. Prufrock maintains a fairly even
toneone of quiet despair.
Vocabulary
1. e 2. g 3. a 4. b 5. f
Literary Element
Allusion
An allusion can add richness and depth to a work of

literature through its association of ideas. For example, lines 9293 contain an allusion to Andrew
Marvells poem To His Coy Mistress, in which the
speaker says, Let us roll all our strength and all / Our
sweetness into one ball, / And tear our pleasures
with rough strife / Through the iron gates of life. This
allusion is ironic because Prufrock, after squeezing
the universe into a ball, is unable to roll it towards
some overwhelming question.
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural
Context
The lines In the room the women come and go/

Talking of Michelangelo (lines 1314, 3536) refer
to the great Italian Renaissance painter.
1. What can you infer about these women?
2. Why do you think that the lines are repeated?
What can you infer from this repetition about
the nature of the womens conversations?
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1. In the allusion to Shakespeare in lines 111

119, why does Prufrock claim he is not Prince
Hamlet?
2. In the poem, Prufrock makes allusions to John

the Baptist, Lazarus, and Hamlet. What do these
characters have in common? How do they
relate to Prufrock?
3. In your opinion, what is the overall effect of
Eliots use of allusions in this poem?
Vocabulary Practice
Practice with Antonyms An antonym is a
word that has a meaning opposite to that of
another word. With a partner, match each boldfaced vocabulary word below with its antonym.
You will not use all the answer choices. Use a
thesaurus or dictionary to check your answers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
tedious
presume
digress
malinger
deferential
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
focus
persevere
candid
pretend
interesting
disobedient
know
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Review: Dramatic Monologue
As you learned on page 515, a dramatic monologue

is an extended speech by a literary character to a
silent listener. When that silent listener is the reader,
the speech takes the form of an interior monologue,
also known as stream of consciousness, a term first
used by the psychologist William James to describe
the spontaneous flow of a persons random thoughts
and feelings. Some readers have interpreted
Prufrock as a stream-of-consciousness monologue
in which Prufrock addresses his alter ego, or the
opposite side of his personality.
Partner Activity Meet with a classmate and talk
about the function of the dramatic monologue in
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Address
these questions during your discussion:
1. Who is the you in line 1?
2. What is the relationship between the you in
the poem and the you in the epigraph from
Dantes Inferno?
3. Does Prufrock maintain the same tone throughout the poem? Explain.
Academic Vocabulary
In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot

comments on the hopelessness of modern life.
Comment is an academic word. A reporter
looking for a quotation for a story might take
notes as a politician comments on an election.
To further explore the meaning of this word,
answer the following question: If you were to
write a poem similar to this one about modern
life, how would you comment on your world?
For more on academic vocabulary, see pages
5354.
Literature Online
Selection Resources For Selection Quizzes, eFlashcards, and Reading-Writing Connection activities, go to
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Progress Check
Can students connect to a
cultural context?
If No See Unit 5 Teaching
Resources Book, p. 42.
674
Reading Strategy
Academic Vocabulary
Vocabulary
1. B is the correct answer because the

reference to Michelangelo suggests
the womens familiarity with art, but
their coming and going suggests a
lack of serious concentration.
Students might mention greed or the

sense of danger and claustrophobia
in cities.
Learning Objectives
Respond Through Writing
After You Read
In this assignment, you will

objectives:
Assess
Short Story
Grammar: Correcting run-on

sentences.
Writing
Apply Mood Write a short story narrated from the rst-person point
of view of a modern-day teen Prufrock. Decide whether you want your
readers to feel sympathy for your character. Keep that purpose in mind
as you write, selecting an appropriate tone, mood, and language.
SE Facsimile
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Understand the Task Tone is the writers attitude toward the subject
or audience, as conveyed through elements such as word choice, punctuation, sentence structure, and gures of speech. Mood is the general
emotional quality of a piece of writing.
Prewrite What kind of life would Prufrock live if he were a modern-day

teenager? Brainstorm a list of events that might happen during a normal
day in his life. Then choose the events you think would most strongly
illustrate his character. Next, make a list of words and phrases that your
character would use in reacting and responding to these events.
Students stories should develop a

distinct tone and be organized in
a logical sequence. Stories should
also include concrete sensory
details and be free of run-on
sentences and other grammatical
errors.
Grammar Tip
Run-on Sentences
I arrived at the test I did not

want to go through with it.
This is a run-on sentence,
because two sentences are
joined without a transition.
One solution: change one
sentence to a subordinate
clause: When I arrived at the
Scoring Guide
Assess students performance in
the following categories using the
scoring guide at the bottom of the
page:
Addresses all parts of the writing
task.
Conveys a certain tone through
use of word choice, punctuation,
sentence structure and figures of
speech.
Describes and develops characters and events to communicate
a consistent mood to readers.
Employs concrete sensory details
that illustrate characters thoughts
and actions.
Provides a variety of sentence
types; uses precise, descriptive
language.
Follows English language
conventions.
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Draft As you draft your story, present events in a logical sequence.

Make sure each event you describe contributes to the overall mood you
want to create, and that each is consistent with the impression you want
your audience to have of your character. Remember to also use concrete sensory details to describe the characters specic movements and
thoughts. To plan your story, make a chart like the one below:
Events
Characters
responses/thoughts
Effects on mood
Opportunity to
audition for school
play
Its pointless; I
might embarrass
myself
Creates feeling of
bleakness
test, I did not want to go

through with it. You can also
join the sentences using a

coordinating conjunction: I
arrived at the test, but I did

not want to go through with it.
Revise Exchange stories with a classmate. After reading each others

work, discuss whether each of you was successful in your writing purpose. If not, discuss revisions you might make to strengthen your story.
Edit and Proofread Proofread your paper, correcting any errors in
spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Review the Grammar Tip in the side
column for help avoiding run-on sentences.
T. FOOTE
S . E L I OT
R 0000
675
Scoring Guide
Task addressed
fully
mostly
partially
barely
Tone
consistent and well

conveyed
somewhat consistent and

conveyed
partially conveyed
no particular tone
Character, events
well developed and

described
somewhat developed and

described
partially developed and

described
not developed or
described
Sensory details
well employed
employed
few employed
none
Language
varied, precise, descriptive
varied, somewhat descriptive
predictable, basic
not varied, limited
Convention errors
few or none
several
some
many
675
Lesson Plan
Glencoe Literature Essential Course of Study
(pp. 666675)
Lesson Plan and Resource Manager

UNIT FIVE
Beginnings of the Modern Age 19101930s, Part 1: Modern Poetry
Learning
Objectives
Literary Study: Analyzing allusion.

Reading: Connecting to cultural context.
Grammar: Correcting run-on sentences.
Lesson Summary
On pages 666675 of the Student Edition, students will be introduced to

the following:
Big Idea: New Poetics
Literary Element: Allusion
Reading Strategy: Connect to Cultural Context
Writing Activities/Grammar: Short Story, Run-on Sentences
Vocabulary: Antonyms, Academic Vocabulary
Lesson Duration
One to five 4550 minute sessions
Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Readability Scores Dale-Chall: N/A
DRP: N/A
Lexile: N/A
Focus
SE/ TE pp. 666667

Selection Focus Transparency 41
Daily Language Practice Transparency 58
Literature Launchers: Pre-Reading Videos DVD, Selection Launcher
Literature Launchers Teacher Guide
Teach
SE/ TE pp. 668672

Interactive Read and Write SE, pp. 179188
Interactive Read and Write TE, pp. 179188
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Literary Element, p. 41
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Reading Strategy, p. 42
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Selection Vocabulary Practice, p. 43
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Vocabulary Strategy, p. 44
Literary Elements Transparency 3
Classroom Presentation Toolkit CD-ROM
Listening Library CD, Selection Audio
TeacherWorks Plus CD-ROM
Vocabulary PuzzleMaker CD-ROM
Assess
SE/ TE pp. 673675

Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Selection Quick Check, p. 45
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Selection Quick Check (Spanish), p. 46
Assessment Resources, Selection Test, pp. 189190
ExamView Assessment Suite CD-ROM
Progress Reporter Online Assessment
(continued on next page)

Glencoe Literature, American Literature 149
Differentiated
Instruction:
English Learners
Interactive Read and Write (EL) SE, pp. 179188

Interactive Read and Write (EL) TE, pp. 179188
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, English Language Coach, p. 22
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Selection Summaries: English, Spanish, Vietnamese,
Tagalog, Cantonese, Haitian Creole, and Hmong, pp. 3540
Unit 5 Teaching Resources, Selection Quick Check (Spanish), p. 46
English Language Coach
Glencoe Interactive Vocabulary CD-ROM
Listening Library Audio CD
Listening Library Sourcebook: Strategies and Activities
Differentiated
TE Approaching Level Activities, pp. 666675
Instruction:
Interactive Read and Write (Approaching) SE, pp. 179188
Approaching Level
Interactive Read and Write (Approaching) TE, pp. 179188
Glencoe Interactive Vocabulary CD-ROM
Listening Library Audio CD
Listening Library Sourcebook: Strategies and Activities
Skill Level Up! A Skills-Based Language Arts Game CD-ROM
Differentiated
Instruction:
Advanced/Pre-AP
Extension
TE Advanced Learner Activities, pp. 666675

Novel Companion SE, pp. 207250
Novel Companion TG, pp. 4553
Literature Classics, High School CD-ROM
Skill Level Up! A Skills-Based Language Arts Game CD-ROM
Grammar and Language Workbook SE/TAE
Revising with Style
Spelling Power SE/TAE
Daily Writing
SE/ TE p. 675
Interdisciplinary
Connections
SE/ TE View the Art, pp. 668, 671

TE Literary History: Poetry, p. 666
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Independent
Reading
Learning Objectives
For pages 179188, 314
In studying this text, you
will focus on the following
objectives:
allusion.
cultural context.
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
by T. S. Eliot
179
Before You Read
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
Connect to the Poem
Respond to each of the following questions on the lines below them.
This poem was written in an era in which poets were beginning to reject conventional poetic forms. What form or
forms do you expect the poem to take?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The title includes the phrase Love Song. What do you expect from a poem that includes these words in the title?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Think about the name of the poems protagonist: J. Alfred Prufrock. What do you expect of a person with this name?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Build Background
T. S. Eliot was one of the twentieth centurys most influential writers. His
experiments in language and forms changed literary tastes.
Eliot began his career as rural ways of life were giving way to rapid urbanization, or
the growth of cities.
In many cities, factories dominated neighborhoods crowded with teeming

tenement buildings.
Eliots poetry examined the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and frustration that
many people felt living in impersonal modern cities.
Now, without looking at what you just read, write down two facts that you remember
from the Build Background notes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

In this poem, T. S. Eliot presents a strange, dreamlike journey through a modern city.
Read to find out in what ways he rejects some of the conventions of traditional poetry.
180
Literary Element Allusion

In a work of literature, an allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or
a situation from history, art, music, or literature. Authors often use allusions to deepen
the meaning they are trying to bring across in their work. Think about the following
situations and how you would experience them. Then, on the lines below, identify an
allusion you might make if you were to write about your reaction to the experience.
Your allusion can be from literature, movies, television, popular music, and any other
cultural form with which you are familiar.
You are at a party and you dont know any other guest.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
You just led your team to victory in an athletic or academic contest.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reading Strategy Connect to Cultural Context

A piece of writing is more meaningful when it is placed within its cultural context ,
or the society in which the writer lived, the technologies that surrounded the writer,
and the historical forces that influenced the writer. Meaning is also enhanced by
recognizing references to cultural contexts within the piece of writing itself. As you
read, use the chart like the one below to note and identify the cultural context of
passages in the poem and to evaluate their importance to your interpretation of the
poem. A sample has been done for you.
Passage
Cultural Context
When the evening is spread out Modern technology (surgery)

against the sky/Like a patient
etherised upon a table.
Interpretation
This reference makes nature itself
(the evening sky) seem diseased.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Antonyms
Antonyms are words that mean the opposite or nearly the opposite.
Recognizing that a word is an antonym of another word can help build
your vocabulary and understanding of words. Review the vocabulary
words on the right. Using these definitions, match each bold-faced
word below with its antonym from the list next to it. Write the letter of
the antonym on the line next to the vocabulary word.
1. insidious _____
a. focus
2. presume _____
b. obvious
3. digress _____
c. know
4. malinger _____
d. disobedient
5. deferential _____
e. persevere
insidious (in si de s) adj. operating in a not

easily observed manner, usually with a negative
effect
presume (pri zoom) v. to expect something
without justification; to take for granted
digress (d gres) v. to depart from the main
subject; to ramble
malinger (m ling gr) v. pretends incapacity or
illness to avoid work
deferential (def ren shl) adj. yielding to
someone elses opinions or wishes
181
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
senza tema dinfamia ti respondo.
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural Context The
first stanza is an epigraph from
Dantes Inferno, a medieval Italian
poem describing a journey through
hell. Here, a condemned spirit
confesses his sins because he
believes what he says will not be
revealed to those still on Earth.
What inference can you make
about the contemporary readers
of Eliot by his inclusion of an
epigraph in Italian? Write your
answer on the lines below.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
10

Streets that follow like a tedious2 argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Vocabulary
insidious (in si de s) adj.
operating in a not easily
observed manner, usually with a
negative effect
Vocabulary Skill
Antonyms Identify an antonym for
the word insidious. How would the
meaning of these lines change if
the antonym were used? Write your
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
182
1. Etherised (etherized) (e th rzd) means anesthetized with ether, as before an

operation; in other words, made insensitive to pain.
2. Tedious means tiresome because of length or boring.
3. Michelangelo Buonarroti (m kl an j lo bwo na ro te) (14751564) was a gifted
Italian sculptor and painter.
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Do I dare
Reading Strategy
Reread the highlighted text. What
is the cultural difference between
this room and the streets through
which Prufrock has just walked?
Write your answer on the lines
below.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural Context What
does the metaphor in line 51
tell the reader about the society
that Prufrock inhabits? Write your
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Vocabulary
to take for granted
4. A morning coat is a mans jacket that slopes away from a front button at the waist
to tails at the back. It was worn for formal daytime dress.
5. Here, asserted means made more bold or enhanced.
183
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
Vocabulary
55
digress (di gres) v. to depart

from the main subject; to
ramble
60
Vocabulary
malinger (m lng gr) v.
pretends incapacity or illness to
avoid work
Literary Element
Allusion Although he does not
claim to be a prophet, Prufrock
compares himself to John the
Baptist. How does Prufrock
imagine his head brought in upon
a platter? Write your answer on
the lines below.
_______________________________
65
70
75
80
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
85
Reading Strategy
Reread the highlighted text. How
does this symbol function in the
cultural context of the poem? Write
your answer on the lines below.
90

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?
Asleeptiredor it malingers,
upon a platter7
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
184
6. Formulated means reduced to or expressed as a formula, thereby losing individuality.

7. [head . . . platter] This biblical reference is to the beheading of the prophet John
the Baptist (Matthew 14:111). Delighted with the dancing of his stepdaughter
Salome, King Herod promised her anything she desired. Prompted by her mother,
Salome asked for Johns head on a platter and Herod granted her request.
8. A prophet is a person who predicts the future or who speaks by divine inspiration.
9. The eternal Footman is Death.
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
95
100
105
110

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail
along the floor
Literary Element
Allusion Irony refers to an
outcome contrary to what is
expected. How is Prufrocks
allusion to Lazarus ironic? Write
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
10. [I am Lazarus . . . dead] This biblical reference is to John 11:144 in which

Jesus revives his friend Lazarus who has been dead for four days.
11. The magic lantern, a forerunner of the modern slide projector, was a device for
projecting enlarged images.
MY NOTES
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
185
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
Literary Element
Allusion What does the allusion in
lines 111 and 112 tell the reader
about how Prufrock sees himself?
below.
115
_______________________________
_______________________________
120
_______________________________
_______________________________
125
_______________________________

yielding to someone elses
opinions or wishes

_______________________________
Vocabulary
I grow oldI grow old

_______________________________
_______________________________

130

12. Prince Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, the tragic hero of Shakespeares play
Hamlet.
13. To swell a progress is to participate in, and thereby increase (swell) the number
of people in a royal procession or a play.
14. Politic (po l tik) means characterized by prudence or shrewdness in managing,
dealing, or promoting a policy.
15. High sentence is fancy, pompous speech full of advice, like that of the old counselor
Polonius in Hamlet. Obtuse (b toos) means slow in understanding or dull.
MY NOTES
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
186
After You Read
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
Connect to the Poem

Look back at your responses to the questions on page 180. Were your
expectations correct? In what ways were your expectations not met? Write your
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Look back at the allusions you identified that applied to the situations described
on page 181. How were the allusions you made like and unlike those T. S. Eliot
makes in the poem? Write your answer on the lines below.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Review the cultural context chart you completed as you read the poem. Then
use the sentence frames below to describe both Prufrocks actual world and his
mental life.
The cultural context of Prufrocks world is _____________________________________________________________ .
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The cultural context of Prufrocks mental life ___________________________________________________________ .
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
187
The Love Song of
After You Read
J. Alfred Prufrock
Vocabulary
insidious
presume
digress
malinger
deferential
A. Word Meaning Respond to the following statements to help you explore the
meanings of the vocabulary words from the selection. Write you answers on
the lines below.
1. How is an insidious argument different from a direct argument?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What could you do to confirm something you presume to be true?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What might you do if a friend begins to digress during a discussion about
school work?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If an employee malingers, what would a supervisor do?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What words would you use to describe someone who is deferential?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
B. Antonyms Identify an antonym for each vocabulary word then write a

sentence for each word in the antonym pair. If you can, use both words in the
antonym pair in one sentence. Write your sentences on the lines below.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
For more practice, see page 314.
188
Learning Objectives
For pages 179188, 314
In studying this text, you
will focus on the following
objectives:
allusion.
cultural context.
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
by T. S. Eliot
179
Before You Read
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
Connect to the Poem
Respond to each of the following questions on the lines below them.
This poem was written in an era in which poets were beginning to reject conventional poetic forms. What form or
forms do you expect the poem to take?
Possible
response: The form of the poem will be unconventional.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The title includes the phrase Love Song. What do you expect from a poem that includes these words in the title?
Possible
response: The poem will be about love.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Think about the name of the poems protagonist: J. Alfred Prufrock. What do you expect of a person with this name?
Possible
response: He will be rich and fussy.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Build Background
T. S. Eliot was one of the twentieth centurys most influential writers. His
experiments in language and forms changed literary tastes.
Eliot began his career as rural ways of life were giving way to rapid urbanization, or
the growth of cities.
In many cities, factories dominated neighborhoods crowded with teeming

tenement buildings.
Eliots poetry examined the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and frustration that
many people felt living in impersonal modern cities.
Now, without looking at what you just read, write down two facts that you remember
from the Build Background notes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

In this poem, T. S. Eliot presents a strange, dreamlike journey through a modern city.
Read to find out in what ways he rejects some of the conventions of traditional poetry.
180

In a work of literature, an allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or
a situation from history, art, music, or literature. Authors often use allusions to deepen
the meaning they are trying to bring across in their work. Think about the following
situations and how you would experience them. Then, on the lines below, identify an
allusion you might make if you were to write about your reaction to the experience.
Your allusion can be from literature, movies, television, popular music, and any other
cultural form with which you are familiar.
You are at a party and you dont know any other guest.
Accept
any response that illustrates the situation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
You just led your team to victory in an athletic or academic contest.

Accept
any response that illustrates the situation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

A piece of writing is more meaningful when it is placed within its cultural context ,
or the society in which the writer lived, the technologies that surrounded the writer,
and the historical forces that influenced the writer. Meaning is also enhanced by
recognizing references to cultural contexts within the piece of writing itself. As you
read, use the chart like the one below to note and identify the cultural context of
passages in the poem and to evaluate their importance to your interpretation of the
poem. A sample has been done for you.
Passage
Cultural Context
When the evening is spread out Modern technology (surgery)

against the sky/Like a patient
etherised upon a table.
Interpretation
This reference makes nature itself
(the evening sky) seem diseased.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Antonyms
Antonyms are words that mean the opposite or nearly the opposite.
Recognizing that a word is an antonym of another word can help build
your vocabulary and understanding of words. Review the vocabulary
words on the right. Using these definitions, match each bold-faced
word below with its antonym from the list next to it. Write the letter of
the antonym on the line next to the vocabulary word.
b
1. insidious _____
a. focus
c
2. presume _____
b. obvious
a
3. digress _____
c. know
e
4. malinger _____
d. disobedient
d
5. deferential _____
e. persevere
insidious (in si de s) adj. operating in a not

easily observed manner, usually with a negative
effect
presume (pri zoom) v. to expect something
without justification; to take for granted
digress (d gres) v. to depart from the main
subject; to ramble
malinger (m ling gr) v. pretends incapacity or
illness to avoid work
deferential (def ren shl) adj. yielding to
someone elses opinions or wishes
181
The Love Song of
J. Alfred Prufrock
senza tema dinfamia ti respondo.
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural Context The
first stanza is an epigraph from
Dantes Inferno, a medieval Italian
poem describing a journey through
hell. Here, a condemned spirit
confesses his sins because he
believes what he says will not be
revealed to those still on Earth.
What inference can you make
about the contemporary readers
of Eliot by his inclusion of an
epigraph in Italian? Write your
Possible response: Eliot

_______________________________
expected that his readers
_______________________________
would understand the Italian
_______________________________
10

Streets that follow like a tedious2 argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question
epigraph and grasp its

_______________________________
meaning and relationship to
_______________________________
the poem that followed.
_______________________________
Vocabulary
insidious (in si de s) adj.
operating in a not easily
observed manner, usually with a
negative effect
Vocabulary Skill
Antonyms Identify an antonym for
the word insidious. How would the
meaning of these lines change if
the antonym were used? Write your
Possible
response: clear. The
______________________________
image
of the streets in the
______________________________
poem
would be less mysterious.
______________________________
182
1. Etherised (etherized) (e th rzd) means anesthetized with ether, as before an

operation; in other words, made insensitive to pain.
2. Tedious means tiresome because of length or boring.
3. Michelangelo Buonarroti (m kl an j lo bwo na ro te) (14751564) was a gifted
Italian sculptor and painter.
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Do I dare
Reading Strategy
Reread the highlighted text. What
is the cultural difference between
this room and the streets through
which Prufrock has just walked?
below.
Possible
response: The
_______________________________
room
is filled with cultured
_______________________________
conversation,
unlike the seedy
_______________________________
cheap
hotels and sawdust
_______________________________
restaurants.
_______________________________
_______________________________
Reading Strategy
Connect to Cultural Context What
does the metaphor in line 51
tell the reader about the society
that Prufrock inhabits? Write your
Possible
response: Empty
_______________________________
social
rituals shape Prufrocks
_______________________________
world.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Vocabulary
to take for granted
4. A morning coat is a mans jacket that slopes away from a front button at the waist
to tails at the back. It was worn for formal daytime dress.
5. Here, asserted means made more bold or enhanced.
183
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
Vocabulary
55
digress (di gres) v. to depart

from the main subject; to
ramble
60
Vocabulary
malinger (m lng gr) v.
pretends incapacity or illness to
avoid work
Literary Element
Allusion Although he does not
claim to be a prophet, Prufrock
compares himself to John the
Baptist. How does Prufrock
imagine his head brought in upon
a platter? Write your answer on
the lines below.
Possible
response: Prufrock
_______________________________
65
70
75
80
imagines
his bald head being
_______________________________
displayed
for the amusement
_______________________________
of
the guests at the tea party.
_______________________________
85
Reading Strategy
Reread the highlighted text. How
does this symbol function in the
cultural context of the poem? Write
90

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?
Asleeptiredor it malingers,
upon a platter7
Possible
response: Prufrock
_______________________________
imagines
death as a smug
_______________________________
servant
in one of the upper_______________________________
class
households he visits.
_______________________________
184
6. Formulated means reduced to or expressed as a formula, thereby losing individuality.

7. [head . . . platter] This biblical reference is to the beheading of the prophet John
the Baptist (Matthew 14:111). Delighted with the dancing of his stepdaughter
Salome, King Herod promised her anything she desired. Prompted by her mother,
Salome asked for Johns head on a platter and Herod granted her request.
8. A prophet is a person who predicts the future or who speaks by divine inspiration.
9. The eternal Footman is Death.
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
95
100
105
110

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail
along the floor
Literary Element
Allusion Irony refers to an
outcome contrary to what is
expected. How is Prufrocks
allusion to Lazarus ironic? Write
Possible
response: Prufrock
_______________________________
imagines
himself revealing
_______________________________
secrets
from beyond the grave,
_______________________________
but
his listener is not interested
_______________________________
in
what he has to say.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
10. [I am Lazarus . . . dead] This biblical reference is to John 11:144 in which

Jesus revives his friend Lazarus who has been dead for four days.
11. The magic lantern, a forerunner of the modern slide projector, was a device for
projecting enlarged images.
MY NOTES
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
185
The Love Song of

J. Alfred Prufrock
Literary Element
Allusion What does the allusion in
lines 111 and 112 tell the reader
about how Prufrock sees himself?
below.
115
Possible
response: Prufrock
_______________________________
does
not see himself as a
_______________________________
120
heroic
figure like Hamlet, but
_______________________________
_______________________________
125
_______________________________

yielding to someone elses
opinions or wishes

_______________________________
Vocabulary
I grow oldI grow old

as
someone on the sidelines.
_______________________________
_______________________________

130

12. Prince Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, the tragic hero of Shakespeares play
Hamlet.
13. To swell a progress is to participate in, and thereby increase (swell) the number
of people in a royal procession or a play.
14. Politic (po l tik) means characterized by prudence or shrewdness in managing,
dealing, or promoting a policy.
15. High sentence is fancy, pompous speech full of advice, like that of the old counselor
Polonius in Hamlet. Obtuse (b toos) means slow in understanding or dull.
MY NOTES
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
186
The Love Song of
After You Read
J. Alfred Prufrock
Connect to the Poem
Look back at your responses to the questions on page 180. Were your
expectations correct? In what ways were your expectations not met? Write your
Students
expectations about how the poem did not follow conventional poetic forms were likely met, but
________________________________________________________________________________________________
students
may have had different expectations from a poem with the phrase love song in the title, and may
________________________________________________________________________________________________
have
expected a person named J. Alfred Prufrock to either be more dignified or more comical.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Look back at the allusions you identified that applied to the situations described
on page 181. How were the allusions you made like and unlike those T. S. Eliot
makes in the poem? Write your answer on the lines below.
Students
allusions were probably to contemporary popular culture; Eliots allusions were to traditional
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
high
culture.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Review the cultural context chart you completed as you read the poem. Then
use the sentence frames below to describe both Prufrocks actual world and his
mental life.
response: modern city life.
The cultural context of Prufrocks world is possible
_____________________________________________________________
.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
response: traditional culture such as Shakespeare and
The cultural context of Prufrocks mental life possible
___________________________________________________________
.
the
Bible.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
187
The Love Song of
After You Read
J. Alfred Prufrock
Vocabulary
insidious
presume
digress
malinger
deferential
A. Word Meaning Respond to the following statements to help you explore the
meanings of the vocabulary words from the selection. Write you answers on
the lines below.
1. How is an insidious argument different from a direct argument?
Possible
response: An insidious argument is sneaky.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What could you do to confirm something you presume to be true?
Possible
response: I could test it.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What might you do if a friend begins to digress during a discussion about
school work?
Possible response: I might try to keep him or her on the subject.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If an employee malingers, what would a supervisor do?
Possible
response: The supervisor might fire him or her.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What words would you use to describe someone who is deferential?
Possible response: obedient, respectful.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
B. Antonyms Identify an antonym for each vocabulary word then write a

sentence for each word in the antonym pair. If you can, use both words in the
antonym pair in one sentence. Write your sentences on the lines below.
Sample sentences:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
At first her campaign against her political opponent was insidious, but then she began a direct attack.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
He presumed I would go with him until I confirmed I couldnt.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The speaker digressed for a while, but then began to focus on her topic.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The manager warned him not to malinger, but to work his shifts.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
She was not deferential to her parents; instead, she was disobedient.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
For more practice, see page 314.
188
Name
Class
Date
Literary Element (page 666)

Allusion
T. S. ELIOT
T. S. Eliot uses many allusions in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Sometimes allusions that we dont understand can be intimidating and detract from our
reading of the poem. If we do understand the allusion, it can greatly add to the
depth of the poem and our enjoyment of it.
ACTIV ITY
Directions In the chart below, note what you know about each allusion, including what you
learned from the notes next to the poem in your textbook. In the third column, explain why you
think Eliot used the allusion. If you recognize an allusion but dont have any knowledge about
it, record it and note how you might find out something about it.
Allusion
What Do I Know
About It?
Possible Purpose
Epigraph from Dantes Inferno
Dante took a journey through

the underworld.
The narrator is setting out on

a journey. Perhaps he sees it as
similar to Dantes journey.
Talking of Michelangelo
(line 14)
Michelangelo was a classical

artist.
1.
I am Lazarus, come from

the dead (line 94)
2.
3.
No! I am not Prince

Hamlet (line 111)
4.
5.
Unit Resources
American Literature, Unit 5
41
Name
Class
Date
Reading Strategy (page 666)

T. S. ELIOT
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is set in London at a time when cities were
growing rapidly. Living conditions were overcrowded, and poor factory workers
were routinely exploited by wealthy factory owners.
ACT IV IT Y
Directions Consider the following dates and answer the following questions:
1888: T. S. Eliot was born.
1913: Henry Ford revolutionized productivity with the assembly line.
1914: World War I began.
1915: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was published in Poetry magazine.
1. T. S. Eliot was 27 years old when The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock was
published. Yet, the protagonist is a middle-aged man. What lines in the poem
tell you that the protagonist is worried about aging? Why do you think Eliot
chose a protagonist older than himself?
2. How do you think the war contributed to the mood of Eliots poem?
3. How does imagery used in lines 1522 reflect Eliots attitude toward city life?
Active Reading Graphic Organizer

Ask your teacher for a copy of the Two-Column Table Graphic Organizer. Record
images that reveal Eliots view of city life and the emotion conveyed by the image.
Image
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets/And watched the smoke that rises
from the pipes/Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves,
leaning out of windows? . . . (lines 7073)
42
Emotion
loneliness
isolation
Unit Resources
Name
Class
Date
Selection Vocabulary Practice (page 666)

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T. S. ELIOT
Vocabulary
tedious adj. tiresome because of length; boring
presume v. to expect something without justification; to take for
granted
digress v. to depart from the main subject; to ramble
malinger v. to pretend incapacity or illness to avoid work
deferential adj. yielding to someone elses opinion or wishes
E X E R C I S E A Antonyms
On the line next to each word, write the word from the list below that is its antonym.
1. tedious
2. presume
3. digress
4. malinger
5. deferential
Word List: work, verify, disrespectful, proceed, interesting
E X E R C I S E B Applying Meanings
Underline the best ending for each open-ended sentence below.
1. If the boss were to presume that the new employee was reliable, he would
A. watch the employee very carefully
B. trust the employee with an
important project
C. fire the employee
2. Sally could digress for hours and as a result she
A. entertained her listeners
C. slept very soundly at night
B. never seemed to get to the point
3. Because Steven found chores tedious, he

A. was sick often
B. had fun
C. was bored easily
E X E R C I S E C Responding to the Selection

What would J. Alfred Prufrock look like as he walked through the city streets? What impression did he
give others? Write a paragraph describing how you see him. Use at least FOUR vocabulary words.
Unit Resources
43
Name
Class
Date
Vocabulary Strategy (page 666)

Word Origins
T.S. ELIOT

To wonder Do I dare? and Do I dare?
T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Connecting to Literature To understand Eliots writing, it is important to know

the exact meanings of the words he chooses. Looking at the words origins, often
from Greek or Latin, can help. In the lines above, how does it aid our understanding to know that presume comes from the Latin praesumere, to dare? Word
origins can usually be found in a dictionary.
Fill in this chart by looking up the words in a dictionary. Write the language and
word of origin, and the meaning from which each one originated.
Word
Origin
Word
Origin
overwhelming
1.
scuttle
2.
revision
3.
attendant
4.
presume
Latin
praesumere
to dare
meticulous
5.
ACT IV IT Y
Directions On the lines write one or two complete sentences that explain how your
understanding of each passage is enhanced by knowing word origins.
1. Streets that follow like a tedious argument / Of insidious intent / To lead you
to an overwhelming question
2. I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floor of silent
seas
3. Politic, cautious and meticulous
44
Unit Resources
Name
Class
Date
Selection Quick Check (page 666)

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock T. S. ELIOT
Use complete sentences to answer the following questions.
1. What are three characteristics of the speakers appearance?
2. How has he measured out his life?
3. How does the speaker describe arms?
4. Of what is the speaker afraid?
5. Whom has he heard singing?
Unit Resources
45
Name
Class
Prueba Rpida (pg. 666)

La cancin de amor de J. Alfred Prufrock
Date
T. S. ELIOT
Contesta las siguientes preguntas con oraciones completas.

1. Menciona tres caractersticas de la apariencia del narrador:
2. Cmo ha medido su vida?
3. Cmo describe el narrador los brazos?
4. A qu le tiene miedo el narrador?
5. A quin ha escuchado cantar?
46
Unit Resources
Each of the following sentences contains one or more errors.

Find the errors and correct the sentences.
Deductive reasoning begins. With a generalization and tied
it to an example. And finally draws a conclusion. Inductive
reasoning. Begins with details and facts and finds a
relationship between them. That can be stated as a
conclusion or generalization.
Daily Language Practice Transparencies, American Literature
Each of the following sentences contains one or more errors.

Find the errors and correct the sentences.
Deductive reasoning begins. With a generalization and tied
it to an example. And finally draws a conclusion. Inductive
reasoning. Begins with details and facts and finds a
relationship between them. That can be stated as a
conclusion or generalization.
Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization,

is tied to an example, and finally draws a
conclusion. Inductive reasoning begins with
Possible answer:
details and facts and finds a relationship between

them that can be stated as a conclusion or
generalization.
Daily Language Practice Transparencies, American Literature
S E L E C T I O N F O C U S T R A N S PA R E N C Y
F OR
USE WITH
T HE L OVE S ONG
OF
J. A LFRED P RUFROCK
BY
T. S. E LIOT
Nervosa, Ed Paschke. Oil on linen. Private Collection. Source: SuperStock.
In addition to the nervousness indicated

in the title, what other emotions does the
painting suggest? How might these
emotions conflict with nervousness?
American Literature
41
LITERARY ELEMENTS
Transparency
For use with Literary Element: Allusion
An allusion is a reference to a well-known character, place, or situation

from history, music, art, or another work of literature.
Recall an allusion in a literary work you have read. Then answer the
following questions.
1. What character, place, or event does the allusion refer to?
2. What meaning does the allusion suggest?
3. How does the allusion enrich the work?
Identify an allusion in another literary work. What does the allusion

refer to?
Name ________________________________________ Date ___________________ Class __________
Selection Test
Score
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (page 666)

Recall and Interpret (50 points total; 10 points each)
Write the letter of the best answer.
1. The first stanza of the poem describes Prufrocks

a. feelings about himself.
b. dissatisfaction with life.
c. relationship with a partner.
d. journey to a social gathering.
2. With line 37, the poem begins to express all of the following EXCEPT
Prufrocks
a. moral conflict.
b. fear of ridicule.
c. self-consciousness.
d. growing uncertainty.
3. In line 51, Prufrock suggests that his behavior throughout life could be
described as all of the following EXCEPT
a. careful.
b. spontaneous.
c. attentive to details.
d. controlled by trivial concerns.
4. In which stanza does Prufrock wonder whether he has made a mistake
by not asking his question?
a. the stanza beginning with line 70
b. the stanza beginning with line 87
c. the stanza beginning with line 111
d. the stanza beginning with line 120
5. In which stanza does Prufrock resign himself to his life?
a. the stanza beginning with line 70
b. the stanza beginning with line 87
c. the stanza beginning with line 111
d. the stanza beginning with line 120
Vocabulary Practice (10 points total; 2 points each)
Write the letter of the best answer.
6. The speech was tedious and therefore

a. generally helpful.
b. easy to understand.
c. hard to sit through.
Formative Assessments, American Literature
Unit Five
189
Name ________________________________________ Date ___________________ Class __________
Selection Test
(continued)
7. When the speaker said, I digress, he meant that he had

a. made two points.
b. strayed from his topic.
c. resolved the argument.
8. When Prufrock says, So how should I presume? he means that he
does not feel justified in
a. appearing at the tea party.
b. asking his overwhelming question.
c. descending the stairs.
9. When Prufrock describes himself as deferential, he is comparing
himself to
a. Polonius.
b. Hamlet.
c. Michelangelo.
10. When the evening malingers, it
a. passes quickly.
b. drags on slowly.
c. seems suspended indefinitely.
Analyze and Evaluate (20 points total; 5 points each)
Make notes in the boxes to explain what the allusion, and any comments Prufrock makes about
it, add to your understanding of Prufrock.
11. John the Baptist (line 82)
12. The eternal Footman (line 85)

13. Lazarus (line 94)
14. Prince Hamlet (line 111)
BIG IDEA Connect (20 points)

Use a separate sheet of paper to answer the following essay question.
15. Write a short paragraph describing how Prufrock symbolizes or

represents the modern man. Cite an example from the poem that
supports your description.
190
Unit Five
Formative Assessments, American Literature

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Before You Read

. S. Eliot revolutionized poetry more than

The outbreak of World War I prevented Eliots

Genuine poetry can communicate

Finding a Purpose Eventually, Eliot began a

new, more satisfying career as a book editor and

B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE

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Literature and Reading Preview

Set Purposes for Reading

An allusion is an indirect reference to a character, a place, or

Connect to Cultural Context

A piece of writing is more meaningful to you when you place

For pages 666674

tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome

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Sio credessi che mia resposta fosse

Let us go then, you and I,

New Poetics How is this simile an example of Modernism in

tedious (te de s) adj. tiresome because of length; boring

B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE

Winter Night, 1928. Stefan Hirsch. Oil on panel,

1. The epigraph is from

To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .

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In the room the women come and go

4. A morning coat is a mans

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In a minute there is time

For I have known them all already, known them all

B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE

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Rainy Night, 19291930.

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in

7. [head . . . platter] This

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But as if a magic lantern11 threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

11. The magic lantern, a

No! I am not Prince Hamlet,12 nor was meant to be;

12. Prince Hamlet is the

I grow old . . . I grow old . . .

I do not think that they will sing to me.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE

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After You Read

Analyze and Evaluate

1. What image does the name J. Alfred Prufrock

5. In lines 2627, what does Prufrock mean when

2. (a)In lines 19, what do the images Prufrock

6. What, in your opinion, is Prufrocks overwhelming question (lines 10, 93)?

Big Idea New Poetics (a)How does this

9. Connect to Today What aspects of life cause

Rainy Night, 19291930. Charles Burchfield. Watercolor,

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An allusion can add richness and depth to a work of

The lines In the room the women come and go/

1. In the allusion to Shakespeare in lines 111

Review: Dramatic Monologue

B E GINNINGS OF THE M OD ER N AGE

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Respond Through Writing