The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

J. Alfred Prufrock is a lonely man of unquestionable issues. He seeks love, but cannot withhold it. It's ironic that the poem is entitled The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock because, this man has never experienced or possibly ever will experience love to which he can sing about. Throughout the poem Prufrock is judging the woman around him, constantly finding things about them that he finds unattractive, yet he yearns for love to fill the lonely void inside him. His shallowness truly lies within his insecurities, he has no self confidence what so ever. For example in line 40 he he says "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, my collar mounting to my chin, my necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin (They will say; "But how his arms and legs are thin!') He believes that if he attends this party, woman will talk secretly about him. But he makes the same judgments towards women, he continuously finds something wrong with women, to avoid loving them. He is ultimately afraid love and commitment, he is also afraid to put himself out there because he is worried that he will be let down, his major fear is rejection. His problem, is most likely the type of women that he surrounds himself with. In the poem the line "In the room women come and go Talking of Michelangelo." is stated twice, because these women are only talking about Italian artist to sound intelligent, which is just another characteristic that irritates Prufrock. It is possible that he has not experienced love, because he just continues to associate himself with the wrong kind of women. 

He also alludes to Hamlet, saying that he is in no way like hamlet, but actually the two are very similar in the way that they are both extremely melancholy. Prufrock is capable of finding love, he just underestimates his abilities to do so, which makes him lonely, which makes him sad. Hamlet is bitter about the state of affairs in Denmark, and the murder of his father, which makes him contain a deep sadness as well. By description it would appear that Prufrock is growing, and time is running out for him to ever experience love. With his choice of woman, and his noticeable insecurities there is no telling whether or not Prufrock ever will find the love that wants yet avoids. 

Not My Best Side

In U.A. Fanthorpe's poem "Not My Best Side" the dragon, the maiden, and the knight do not portray the same thoughts and personalities as they do in the traditional stories. The main idea of the poem directly lies within in the title, because each character is showing a different less appealing side, then they would in the conventional tale.

Dragons, for example, are usually giant fearless creatures who destroy anything and everything in their past. They capture maidens, and kill knights, and there confidence is extraordinary, but the dragon is this poem shows none of those characteristics. The majority of his section is filled with complaints about the painting that he is in. He doesn't like the angle is was painted at, and he is upset that two of his feet weren't in the painting. He also has no interest in the maiden that he has captured, he actually finds her quite ugly. All he is worrying about is what people are going to think of him, when usually a big strong dragon doesn't care, all they want to do is kill, and capture, but this dragon shows little confidence or interest in those tasks.

Traditionally maidens are supposed to be pure at heart and pure at mind, but this maiden is in no way like that. She is very much attracted to the dragon who has captured her and she has no interest in being rescued, by the possibly ugly knight. Her lust towards that dragon is very strong, and her supposed "pure" mind is actually quite dirty. Unfortunately, her little crush must end because the dragon was defeated, which meant she might as well run off with the Knight who "saved" her, because she needs to think about her future.

The knight in this story cares little about the maiden he is saving and more about his credibility as a Knight. He has all the latest horse, and weapons, and he is the most qualified to slay the dragon. He wants to finish the job that was assigned to him and he doesn't understand why this maiden won't just get out of his way so he can rescue her and add another achievement to his already stacked resume. He portrays a more modern mind then the customary knight, and work is most important to him.

Each speaker from each section is showing a different side, then readers would usually see or expect, and the sides they are showing are pretty unpleasant which is why the poem is called "Not My Best Side". There is also humor added to the usually serious love story.

Lying In a Hammock At William Duffy's Farm In Pine Island, Minnesota

1.) The man is lying on a hammock, in the summer, he is watching a butterfly that is sleeping on a bronze trunk, and is blowing back and forth because of the wind. The man can hear the cowbells on the cows down the ravine, and he can smell the horse droppings from last year. The horse droppings are also turning gold because it is extremely hot outside, and then the man sees a chicken hawk fly above him looking for his home, and then he says to himself that he has wasted his life.

2.) The person in that hammock has let time pass him by, he seems to be looking around taking everything around him in, and realizing that everything around him is changing, but he himself is letting life pass him by. There is a suggestion that he is an older man based on the fact that in the end he states that he has wasted his life, if he were young he would still have an opportunity to live his life.

3.)It wasn't until the final line that I actually discovered the regret of this person, when I first read the poem I thought that he was just very relaxed, and pleased with his surroundings, but then when I reread it with the last line i realized that he is watching time pass him by, and realizing that he was wasted his own life.

4.) The farm where he is lying in the hammock does not belong to him. It also tells us where the speaker lives, which is Pine Island, Minnesota.

5.) The speaker uses every sense besides taste to describe his surroundings, and most of his descriptions are dealing with time, and time passing by for example the cowbells following one another into the distance, the last years cow droppings blazing up into golden stones. It all centers around time passing and loneliness, which symbolize the mans live, meaning that he has let time pass him by, and by doing so he has wasted his life and he is most likely very lonely, and example of that is the empty house, and the chicken hawk looking for home.

6.) Some feelings that are conveyed in this poem are loneliness, and regret, I also got a sense of relaxation, and appreciation of this mans surroundings, but the main idea is that time has passed him by and he regrets that he has wasted life. And now all he seems to have left to do is lie in a hammock and watching everything else change around him.

Beowulf DJ # 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58

51.)"Beowulf's ancient iron-grey sword let him down in the fight. It was never his fortune to be helped in combat by the cutting edge of weapons made of iron." Line 2680

Beowulf's weapons do not work in battle. No man made weapon that he has tried to use has worked for him, this could be a message from "the Almighty"  telling him to use his god given strength to kill the monsters, not the iron work of another man.

52.)"He lunged at the enemy lower down so that his decorated sword sank into its belly and the flames grew weaker." 2700

Beowulf did slay the Dragon, but Wyglef took a stab at the Dragons stomach which caused his fiery breath to die down which gave Beowulf the opportunity to finish it off. All this time Beowulf has refused help from other warriors, but without it in this battle he would have died and the Dragon would have most likely lived and went to destroy the Gete country, leaving Beowulf unsuccessful. It makes me wonder, if Beowulf would have trusted his fellow warriors the way that he trusts himself in battle, the could have quite possibly became as strong as he was. Making the Gete land quite invincible.

53.)"No king of any neighboring clan would dare face me with troops, none had the power to intimidate me."Line 2740

When Beowulf ruled the Getes he provided protection based on fear, nobody ambushed the Getes because they knew they would fail. His death is a foreshadow to the Destruction of his country and they ultimate wipe out of his people. Without Beowulf countries will attack the Getes as they please and most likely win because Beowulf never trained his army because he was so focused on his own fame.

54.) "God himself, mankind's keeper, True King of Triumphs, allowed some person pleasing to Him- and his eyes worthy -- to open the hoard." Line 3050

The treasure is only significant if it is given to someone pure, Beowulf needed to see the treasure before he died, and in the end the treasure was burned above his grave because he was in fact the most pure of the land. It was connected to Beowulf, because he was the lord of his people and without him the treasure meant nothing, especially since the Getes fate now was doomed.

55.) "Often when one man follows his own will many are hurt." Line 3080

Beowulfs decision to attack the Dragon alone hurt his entire country. It was not a smart decision because he was no longer the invincible warrior that he once thought he was. He was old, and if the dragon hadn't have taken him old age would have. Just like any other man Strength dies with age, and he could have given the opportunity to some other young strong warrior but he chose to go it alone, and he was successful in killing the dragon but failed in leading his people.

56.) "They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people, and keenest to win fame." Line 3180

Beowulf was a great man, he respected his people the way that they respected him, and he never lost his temper with a friend, or someone who didn't deserve it. Which was one side of him, which made him a great warrior and a great King. But being great comes with a cost, his fame meant the world to him, he spent all his life trying to be the greatest warrior of all time, and he spent a lot of his time making unnecessary decisions just to prove to be even more great. He was a man of two personalities which in the end is what brought him to death, he chose his fame over his people.

Beowulf DJ # 47, 48, 49, 51

46.)"his own home, the best of buildings, had been burnt to a cinder, the throne room of the Getes." Line 2340

This is another parallel to Hrothgar and Beowulf because Hrothgar's home was burnt down as well. The author was obviously trying to set up a relationship between the two characters because there similarities are quite extreme. In a sense they are the same, but they both shine in different roles.

47.)" After many trials he was destined to face the end of his in this mortal world; as was the dragon, for all his long leasehold on the treasure." Line 2340

Beowulf's life will end in the battle against the Dragon, but he will not die until he has slain the Dragon, as his one last victory. Of course Beowulf, being the over achiever that he is, cannot die peacefully, his life must end in his most ultimate fight. Throughout Beowulf's entire career he has proven to be the most experienced strongest warrior there is, even at old age he is slaying dragons, but he is not invincible, that is what separates him from god, he has the power to protect his people just as god does, but he cannot protect them forever, his life will end just as any other mans would.

48.) "This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of the battle will doom your lord away." Line 2530

Beowulf's believes that this fight belongs to him and him only. His arrogance once again shines brightly, because he once was the greatest warrior of all time, and he still believes that he owns that title, but it is only because he never gave any other man any room to become as great as him. He focused only on his own strength even when he had become king, and he didn't pay any attention to building the strength of his countries warriors, which after his death, will cause a great deal of problems for the Geat people. His pride and his arrogance(tragic flaw) are will ultimately destroy his country, that he for so long helped build and protect.

50.)"No help or backing was to be had then from his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop broke ranks and ran for their lives to the safety of the wood." Line 2600

His warriors, after all these years will no longer stay by his side. It is usually an honour to die by your king, but for these warriors all they have done is watched there king battle great monsters alone. He has never asked for there help or trained them to fight alongside him, they are only there in case something goes wrong and even then Beowulf would find someway to help himself and they would become useless, they feel that they are worthless warriors in there own country which is why they decide to save their own lives and escape from the dragons fiery murder.

Beowulf DJ # 42, 43, 44, 45,

42.)"Until one began to dominate the dark, a dragon on the prowl from the steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow where he guarded a hoard." Line 2220

The dragon signifies evil, and greediness. He wants the treasure all to himself, even though there is really nothing he can do with it. Each monster appears at night, which is a reference to hell, each of these monsters are outcasts of god. Each of there lairs are below ground, which is related to where hell is as well.

43.) "Death had come and taken them all in times gone by and the only one left to tell their tale, the last of their line, could look forward to nothing but the same fate for himself: he foresaw that his joys in the treasure would be brief." Line 2240

The man who stole the treasure from the dragon is simply taking back what belongs to the people of his country. He is the last one left so this treasure really has absolutely no value anymore. Because treasure is connected to society and your lord, without a lord to honour treasure with, or a society to show of treasure to it has no worth. And this man can also be connected to the character from the poem "The Wanderer" both men are exiled from there country only because they are the only ones to survive. They are possibly the same exact person.

44.)"Pillage and slaughter have emptied the earth of entire peoples." Line 2270

This is an anti-war statement. Its referring to all the unnecessary ambushes that have happened between these countries that have wiped out entire populations and cultures for no good reason. Only because of greed and fame, people have died, and there country is no more than empty land, that will be taken over by other countries because land is money, and money rules all.

45.)"The first to suffer were the people on the land, but before long it was their treasure-giver who would come to grief." 2310

This is a foreshadow to the death of Beowulf. The dragon is attacking his country and destroying his land, and he needs to take action as soon as possible but this probably means the end of his life because he feels the need to go into battle, even though he is quite old. And it is no longer his job to be a warrior he is supposed to king, and this is tragic flaw, he still after all these years of being king cares mostly about his fame, which will finally end along with his life.

Beowulf DJ # 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

37.)"Then suddenly the vehement mother avenged her son and wreaked destruction." Line 2120

Grendels mothers only reason for destruction was to avenge her son, although she is a monster this in a way represents the strength of Woman. The evil female monster cares for her child as any mother would, and she shows that when she goes on a rampage trying to retrieve her dead sons arm. She, like other woman, are not as destructive as the men in her life at this time but when disrespected she takes necessary action to earn back the respect. You could almost compare Grendels mother to Modhyrth because she will not let men disrespect her or her family and when they do they pay for it.

38.)"These, King Hygelac, i am happy present to you as gifts. It is still upon your grace that all favor depends." Line 2150

Beowulf gives his king all the treasures that he received from Hrothgar, because again his greatest treasure is his fame. And Beowulf is also very respectful to his lord. He maybe the greatest warrior of all time, but he understands that he does not have more power because he is more powerful, his manners are what help make him so successful. Which is another reason why he honoured those gifts to his king. He believed that he fights for his country, and his lord.

39.)"So ought a kinsmen act, instead of plotting and planning in secret to bring people to grief, or conspiring to arrange the death of comrades. The warrior king was uncle to Beowulf and honoured by his nephew: each was concerned for the others goods." Line 2170

The relationship between Uncle and nephew in this time was almost more important that then relationship between father and son. Just because Beowulf and Hygelac are not actually blood related does not mean they do not share the same bond that any other uncle and nephew would. Beowulf gives Hygelac a lot of respect and treats him like a real uncle, and they both honour each other graciously through out the poem.

40.) "Thus Beowulf bore himself with valour; he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honour and took no advantage; never cut down a comrade who was drunk, kept his temper and, a warrior that he was, watched and controlled his God-sent strength and his outstanding natural powers." Line 2180

Beowulf is arrogant, has to much pride, and sometimes takes on challenges that are just for show. But he is extremely respectful, well mannered, and civil. He takes all his anger on those who truly deserve it in battle, which signifies a true warrior. His Greatness not only shines in his strength but also in his attitude. Which is not only characteristics of a good warrior, but also a good king. He may not be as strong a king as he is a warrior, but he will still be a legendary one.

41.) "The battle-famed king, bulwark of his ealrs, ordered a gold-chased heirloom of Hrethel's to be brought in...This he laid on Beowulf's lap and then rewarded him with land as well." Line 2190

Beowulf has no direct line to Hrethel but he was raised by him, and as an adopted son he was honoured with land and Hrethels sword because he deserved it. This is a foreshadow to Beowulf continuing the "family" tradition and one day becoming King. This is also another example of the relationship between uncle and nephew.