A Love for Living Hell

        In the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," T. S. Eliot seems to paint a picture of a man (Prufrock) full of indecision and pain, especially in the midst of change. This man is in a sort of daydream, contemplating decisions, revisions, plans, digressions from those plans, bygone days, and love for the idea of peace. The quote from Dante's Inferno placed as a preface to the lyric provides a perception of this man's inmost opinion of his thoughts; it is a personal Hell. In light of this, why is this poem entitled "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"? If it is about a personal Hell, should it not be at least written as a sort of eulogy? Prufrock's flashbacks of biowarfare ("yellow gas") and his reference to sleeping troubles point to a participation in World War I and thus a change in perception. This man lost his innocence, his love for the golden age (Michelangelo), his care for life. He cannot see the world the same. He is deeply troubled and cannot make even the slightest decision without doubting the purpose. Why is this considered a love song? Perhaps this Prufrock fellow, though tortured by his thoughts, also loves this process of doubt and pain in meditation. He loves to zone out and think, even though it is torture. His relationship with his thoughts are as a wife's relationship with a verbally abusive husband whom she still loves. Though there is such pain, there is still satisfaction occasionally due to deep love. This is why at the end, as his thought process is broken by conversation, he "drowns." His contemplation is interrupted, and thus, his past innocence dies once more, only to be remembered in his next meditation. This man, though changed, remembers innocence, remembers morality, remembers hope. It is his refuge in the midst of change. This is not a typical love lyric, written to a lover; it is written as a celebration and love for contemplation and remembrance.

P.S. I commented on Caleb Zessin's post.