With a bald spot in the middle of my hair. Through his use of imagery and allusion in this poem, Eliot deals with themes that revolve around the fragile and self-conscious human condition, touching on the ideas of inadequacy, sexual anxiety and fear of mortality. While the explications of the images on this page follow the same disjointed pattern of organization as Eliot’s images themselves, I hope to show that while each image or image cluster are distinct and seemingly unrelated, they are tied together though thematic elements. By highlighting a few dominant images and allusions in the poem, I hope to gain some insight into Eliot’s use of imagery to relate the main themes of this poem. In order to understand the meaning behind this poem, the reader must dissect Eliot’s imagery, analyze its symbolic meaning, and find thematic patterns. His use of precise language invites readers to examine each word and image closely. Ezra Pound, one of the most influential Imagist poets, defined this movement by saying: “ We are not a school of painters, but we believe that poetry should render particulars exactly and not deal in vague generalities, however magnificent and sonorous.” Knowing Eliot’s involvement with this movement, his use of imagery and description becomes especially important to the reader. They held that only words that are absolutely necessary to enhancing the description should be used in poetry. The language used by Imagists is clear and exact. Alfred Prufrock.” Imagism, a literary movement closely linked to modernism, is based on the principles that poetry should be constructed of precise descriptions of concrete images. Eliot uses the distinctly modernist style of Imagism to construct his poem, “The Love Song of J. The original visual structure of the film included ~44 layers (One for every week since lockdown in March 2020.) and nods to Christian Marclay's "48 War Movies." The film's footage was taken almost exclusively during the 2020 Pandemic lockdown in addition to archival, home movie footage.Īfter we passed the year marker, the film was recut to underscore the feelings of restriction and the practice of self-restraint we now have the obligation to continue.By barraging readers with a seemingly disjointed collage of images, T.S. And while the efforts are at times Sisyphean, they are vital nonetheless. The conversations many intrepid Americans are attempting / engineering / coaxing / facilitating with family and friends during this shifting moment in the American zeitgeist, however, are earnest, essential, and necessary. For Prufrock, the daring inquires are often selfish, carnal ones. The line–hidden inside a memory mosaic of missed opportunities and mortifying rejections in the poem–is the moment of decision: to dare to upset the tranquility and pleasant balance of the room or not. Rankine urges all Americans to begin dialogue with one another to explore the issues of white supremacy, race, and white privilege.Įliot's line, "Should I, after tea and cake and ices, / Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?" highlighted by Rankine, mirrors the situation many Americans find ourselves in currently: forcing the subject and practicing the delicate diplomacy of disabuse. Rankine's book explores how contemporary America finds itself, at home and in government, riven by a culture war in which aggression and defensiveness are on the rise. Alfred Prufrock." The idea to revisit Eliot's "Prufrock" came after hearing Claudia Rankine mention a line from the poem in an interview she did for her latest book, Just Us: An American Conversation (September 2020).
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