![]() ![]() Through the study of Eliot’s philosophy and its connection to the Surrealist movement, students will explore how through his poetry, Eliot attempted to present not the ‘appearance’ of the world but the ‘reality’ of it, consisting of our ideas and preconceptions of our world, and will examine how this presentation is reflected by Prufrock’s view of his life in this poem.Īfter completing this lesson, students should be able to… According to poet and art historian Gaston Criel, the Surrealist art movement was born out of World War One and sought to “express…the true operations of thought,” to access the creativity of the mind’s subconscious by distorting the appearance of the scenes depicted in there thereby juxtaposing the real and the surreal (Criel 133–134). Another view through which we will explore this poem and this concept of reality is that of surrealist art. In this philosophy, ‘appearance’ is simply the world as we see it and ‘reality,’ as Bradley defines it, consists of both our experience and interpretation of the world around us (Skaff 12). In studying his work, Eliot took on the point of view proposed by Bradley that “reality is dualistic, made up of mind and matter” (Skaff 12). One of Eliot’s largest influences during these years was English philosopher F.H. ![]() ![]() In doing so Eliot sought to understand his relationship with reality through these teachings and thereby better describe the world around him and explain the way others did (Skaff 22). Eliot, William Skaff explains that during the time Eliot spent as a student at Oxford he sought to surround himself with and absorb the knowledge of the great philosophers and poets of his time and of those before him with the ultimate goal of becoming a philosopher himself (O’Clair 460). This movement sought to upset previous poetic traditions and interpretations of society and man, to “make it new,” “make it difficult” and challenge the optimistic and highly structured poetry of the Romantic movement predominant at the time (O’Clair xl–xliii, xxxviii–xl). With its publication Eliot established himself as a key figure in the Modernist movement (O’Clair 460). Alfred Prufrock” was Eliot’s first professionally published poem and is one of his best remembered today. Eliot was studying at Oxford University and published in 1915, “The Love Song of J. You can hear him interviewed about it in the programme and his film will be available on BBC Arts Online from the date of the broadcast.Ī Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.Written in 1911 while T.S. With this in mind, the artist Mat Collishaw has been commissioned to make a short film in response to the poem. Some of its most quotable lines are those which paint pictures in the mind of 'sawdust restaurants', 'yellow smoke', 'coffee spoons' and 'white flannel trousers'. Alfred Prufrock is perhaps most memorable for its imagery. The programme also includes literary critics Professors Sarah Churchwell and Hannah Sullivan. Poets Simon Armitage and Kayo Chingonyi both read the poem at school and give us their interpretations. Some people find the poem speaks to the trials of adolescence some detect in it a darkness and morbidity that is disturbing. Alfred Prufrock as his 'swan's song' to poetry - an indication that he anticipated he might not continue to be a poet in his later life. In the aftermath of its publication, Eliot referred to The Love Song of J. One of the poem's most conspicuous themes is indecision, and we hear about Eliot's youthful deliberations over the kind of life he should pursue. ![]() And we hear readings by Jeremy Irons, Ben Whishaw and the poet himself. To mark the centenary of its publication, Alan meets others who have found meaning in the poem - from the psychologist Adam Phillips to the singer Emmy the Great. This is one of the extraordinary features of the poem that first drew Alan Yentob to it as a teenager. Alfred Prufrock - yet many people read the speaker as a middle-aged man contemplating ageing and mortality. TS Eliot was only 22 years old when he wrote The Love Song of J. ![]()
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