T.S. Elliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,' is a melancholy poem of one man's frustrated search to find the meaning of his existence. The speaker's strong use of imagery contributes to the poems theme of communion and loneliness.
The Poem begins with an invitation from Prufrock to follow him through his self-examination. The imagery of this invitation begins with a startling simile, 'Let us go then you and I/ When the evening is spread out against the sky/ Like a patient etherised upon a table.' (Line 1-3) This simile literally describes the evening sky, but functions on another level. Prufrock's description of the 'etherised' evening indicates an altering of perception, and an altering of time, which creates a dreamlike quality throughout the poem. This dreamlike quality is supported throughout the poem with the 'yellow fog' that contributes to the slowed-down-etherised feeling of the poem. …
