week one. question four

This poem messed me up for a few hours. I had a hard time reading this since I didn’t see the ‘love’ song connection. I actually have to read the critical contexts first, and then went back to re-read the poem. The critical context I’ll be talking about was Walcutt’s “Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Profrock.’” From the critical context, I first gained a general idea of what the poem was about. Luckily the first part of the first paragraph helped me realize what I was supposed to read somewhat neglected the “love song” part of the title. I also gained the thought like process in which the poem was written. I didn’t see the many connections before this review I did notice in the poem how the physical appearances where clearly a subject, but this review by Walcut, but the sexual tone that the hair brought with other ‘constant symbols’ that Eliot used. The question of marriage is led by Mr. Profock’s feeling of being inadequate (when talking about his scrawny appearance), and trying to formulate a proposal out of pity to move the potential engagement. I somewhat agree with the author that this was a marriage proposal, or at the least a big hook up moment. . The morning coat in a tea party was a bit of an eye opener, seeing how Profrock over killed the wardrobe for a tea party. I was amused when the writer wrote, that Profrock was so preoccupied, that it seemed like he lead himself to make it seem how he was unsure about this moment, so he aborted it, fearing ridicule. I don’t agree with this part of the critical context. I think that rather than being unsure of himself he was trying to be “careful, politic, and cautious” like polonius, and not like hamlet, which centered the scene. After reading this interpretation, which was the one I favored the most out of the rest of them, I felt like I had gotten a better grasp of what I had read. I had bits and pieces from this critique that I gathered most of my opinions from. But this review helped me see this poem more like the thought process before the moment, rather than something that was a love letter to someone.