Thomas Stearns Eliot,  (26 September 1888 - 4 January 1965) was a British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and "one of the twentieth century's major poets". He moved from his native United States to England in 1914 at the age of 25, settling, working, and marrying there. He eventually became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39, renouncing his American passport. Eliot attracted widespread attention for his poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), which was seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
In 1915, Ezra Pound, overseas editor of Poetry magazine, recommended to Harriet Monroe, the magazine's founder, that she publish "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Although the character Prufrock seems to be middle-aged, Eliot wrote most of the poem when he was only twenty-two. Its now-famous opening lines, comparing the evening sky to "a patient etherised upon a table", were considered shocking and offensive, especially at a time when Georgian Poetry was hailed for its derivations of the nineteenth century Romantic Poets.  The poem follows the conscious experience of a man, Prufrock (relayed in the "stream of consciousness" form characteristic of the Modernists), lamenting his physical and intellectual inertia with the recurrent theme of carnal love unattained. Critical opinion is divided as to whether the narrator leaves his residence during the course of the narration. The locations described can be interpreted either as actual physical experiences, mental recollections, or as symbolic images from the unconscious mind, as, for example, in the refrain "In the room the women come and go".  The poem's structure was heavily influenced by Eliot's extensive reading of Dante and refers to a number of literary works, including Hamlet and those of the French Symbolists. Its reception in London can be gauged from an unsigned review in The Times Literary Supplement on 21 June 1917. "The fact that these things occurred to the mind of Mr. Eliot is surely of the very smallest importance to anyone, even to himself. They certainly have no relation to poetry."

Q: What is The Love Song of J.?
A: of the poem

Q: What is interesting about the poem?
A: poem follows the conscious experience of a man, Prufrock (relayed in the "stream of consciousness" form characteristic of the Modernists), lamenting his physical and intellectual inertia

Q: How is the poem written?
A: The poem's structure was heavily influenced by Eliot's extensive reading of Dante and refers to a number of literary works,

Q: When was the poem written?
A: when he was only twenty-two.

Q: What is the poem about?
A: The locations described can be interpreted either as actual physical experiences, mental recollections, or as symbolic images from the unconscious mind,

Q: Is his work similar to any other poets?
A: poem's structure was heavily influenced by Eliot's extensive reading of Dante and refers to a number of literary works, including Hamlet

Q: Was he a fan of Hamlet?
A: influenced by Eliot's extensive reading of Dante and refers to a number of literary works, including Hamlet

Q: Is there anything else interesting?
A: Its now-famous opening lines, comparing the evening sky to "a patient etherised upon a table", were considered shocking and offensive,
Why were the lines shocking?
Georgian Poetry was hailed for its derivations of the nineteenth century Romantic Poets.
Georgian Poetry was hailed for its derivations of the nineteenth century Romantic Poets.