What is T.S. Eliots “Prufrock” poem really about?
Prufrock is a poem about the future. It is about a man in the midst of WW1 – the War to End All Wars who fears for the future. This was the first time in history that literally thousands of men died simultaneously in the field of battle with the yellow smoke Prufrock talks about – mustard gas. And he is afraid. Afraid that one day these things will come to normal places where normal people live and work. He wonders if there will be a future. Is it even worth getting dressed in the morning? What is going to happen to this world he lives in? And terror attacks have proven him right. He had reason to be afraid for the future of mankind. This is the first genuine masterwork of modernism – using fractal thoughts almost in a stream of consciousness style. It is a brilliant work. Every once in a while, I admit to loving reading it aloud. I don’t think there is a work in the world that sounds as beautiful as this one when read aloud. Glad to see someone else loves Prufrock as much as I do.
