Name
Period
Grade
/40 pts.
“THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK” (T.S. ELIOT)
Directions: As you read “Prufrock,” answer the following questions, which ask questions about content, style, and
interpretation. Listen to Eliot read his poem here: Eliot’s “Prufrock”
1.
What type of poem is “Prufrock”? Reference “Elements of Poetry” handout. Circle answer.
By form:
Rhymed verse
Free Verse
Blank Verse
Proof:
By content:
Narrative
Lyric
Dramatic
Proof:
2. Who are some of literature’s famous lovers? Name a couple of couples.
3. What image does the name J. Alfred Prufrock conjure up for you?
4. “Prufrock” opening epigraph is from Dante’s Inferno. What is the inferno? Who is Dante? What tone does the
epigraph set about how this love song is going to end?
5. What is being compared in the opening simile (lines 1-3)? How is this simile an example of Modernism in poetry
6. What is the difference between the “the room [in which] the women come and go and the streets Prufrock
has travelled?
7. What is the metaphor used in lines 15-22? What two things are compared?
8. What kinds of activities does Prufrock say he will have time for in lines 26-48?
9. What does Prufrock mean in asking, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Of what is he afraid?
10. What does the metaphor used in line 51 say about the society Prufrock inhabits?
11. What is Prufrock’s opinion of himself? What image best reveals this opinion? What literary device is at work
here?
ModernismPrufrock/Livesay 1
12. To what biblical figure does Prufrock compare himself? What is the significance?
13. In a general sense, how old is Prufrock?
14. Who is the “eternal footman”? How does this image in some way characterize the cultural mood of the early
20th century?
15. What kind of life has Prufrock lead (lines 87-104)?
16. What fruit does Prufrock fear to eat? Why?
17. What is Prufrock’s visionary setting at poem’s end?
18. On what note (tone) does the poem end? Explain, using textual evidence as proof.
19. What is Prufrock’s problem? Answer in one well written APE paragraph.
ssert
Thesis statement that directly answers the prompt and hints as a larger theme.
roof
Textual evidence (direct quotes/best or indirect examples/OK) that supports your assertion.
xplain Explain how your evidence proves your point and connects to a larger theme.
ModernismPrufrock/Livesay 2