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Irony is a literary device or method of humorous or sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words used is the direct opposite of their usual sense. The main focus of irony is contrast between what is expressed and what is implied.
Ironic title: In this poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the title suggests that the lover is expressing his love for the lady. However, in the body of the poem there is hardly any mention of love making, rather the lover invents reason for postponing the proposal to the lady. He analyses his feelings which reveal his helplessness and his incapacity for love. The two main hurdles to the making of a proposal, are his old age and his consequent decline in health and vigour and, secondly, his reluctance to give up the single state in which he has been engaging himself in sexual intimacy with opposite sex. The irony of situation is that he would like to make love but there are serious issues which prevent him from doing so. He yearns for love but he has no capacity for it. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he finds excuses for proposing his decisions. As an ordinary lover, he should have been bold and aggressive, but, in reality he is cowardly and timid. He feels like a pinned worm who cannot face the inquisitive eyes of ladies. So, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has an ironic title. Though he talks of love, he wants to assail his beloved. The last stanza of the mermaid scene is just a means of his escape from the world of reality. He is charmed by the dream of the song of the mermaids. Ironically enough he knows that they would not sing for him.
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| Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock |
Strange juxtaposition: In the poem, the important things are placed side by side with the trivial. There is a mingling of the high and the low, the grand and the mean. Look at the sharp contrast between the first and the last line - "Let us go then you and I" is the very antithesis of the last line - "Till human voices wake us and we drown". Similarly what starts as very important in value is brought down to the level of the mean and the trivial as for example: "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons". He throws into relief the futility and barrenness of urban life.
Satirical images in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and glorification of the insignificant. In this poem, Eliot raises his trivial and personal to the level of universal issues. For example, the simple decoration of proposal is compared to a sort earthquake disturbing the universe. Similarly the decoration of his love is as difficult as squeezing the universe into a ball. The matter of a proposal is as difficult as "To murder and create". The frivolity of making this important decision is revealed in the lover's assertion that he can revise his decision in a minute. As the poet says in this poem:
"For I have known them all already, known them all".
Though "he has wept" and "fasted" and "prayed", he cannot muster courage to declare his love. His real cowardice is a reflection of the soul's sickness and the futility of the modern urban civilization. There is another bit of irony in his assumption that the beloved might reject him. She might deny any love or affection for him. She may even cover her having a soft corner for him with a veneer of politeness and courtesy. Inese anticipations are only excuses for his delay and inaction. Moreover, though he is old he wears the latest fashioned clothes in order to hide age and to cover up his baldness. There is an implied irony in what he wishes to appear physically. There is a kind pathos in his descending to the level of Polonius when apparently he has points of similarity with Prince Hamlet. All these examples of irony both in the matter of language and of situation, shows that the poem is an outstanding example of Eliot's exploitation of the device of irony.
University Question also can be Answered:
1. Comment on the ironic effects in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Are they essential to the characterization of the speaker and the unfolding of his problem?
2. How will you justify The Love Song of Prufrock as a song? Examine critically the elements of irony in it.
3. Comment on the title of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Bring out its ironical implications in this poem.