His objective is to speak of the progression of the desired love affair, and its eventual. Progression is the key word, without, in this case, a good connotation: "I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker." Prufrock laments the fact that he has moved beyond a point of adequacy, and therein lies the major shift. The next two stanzas speak hypothetically: "would it have been worth it, after all..?" he asks.
No, because that time has passed. He cannot now go to her and confess his love, to woo her, because he would be as "Lazarus, come from the dead." He has reached a kind of end, an ultimate point.
Darby
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