What's in a name?

It has been suggested that the title is meant to be ironic. Juxtaposing the lofty ideal of a "love song" with a prosaic, almost comical, name like J. Alfred Prufrock is intended to be sadly amusing. This irony is further underlined by the inclusion of those lines from Dante's Inferno with which the poem opens. Sorry, but that's the best I can do, English. I haven't read anything that would indicate an allusion to a character (real or imagined) from elsewhere.

(The poem is included in the Norton Anthology of English Literature with copious notation. If you can slough through all the footnotes, you might find something more.)

It's not an easy poem to analyse, so many blasted allusions!
Thanks for taking your time to reply. It makes sense to juxtapose the name; so much in this poem is juxtaposed....not my fav poem! I eschew obtuseness.

I think it is fair to say "englishmajor" that many people on this forum have read lots of books, including the english majors like you and I.

Good. I was responding to posts on another thread "Prufrock" where I was specifically inquiring whether the name had any significance. I got rather insulting comments, such as "You're an english major and you've never heard of Prufrock"? Which, of course, was NOT my question.

Of course I assume there are other people who have done a fair amout of reading. I'm tearing apart Milton at the moment.

What are you reading?

Milton as well actually in my English Renaissance. We just finished books 3 and 4 of Paradise Lost. We aren't going to finish it though. We moved on to L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. I am also reading Mrs. Dalloway for a survey of British Lit. Over the winter break, I plan on taking it easy a bit, just reading a few novels I've been meaning to get to - "Nectar in a Sieve" and I think I'll reread "The Lord of the Rings" just for my own enjoyment.

I suppose this thread was the wrong place to put my comment because I've never heard of Prufrock myself. Eh, one cannot read everything - and I am far from even being close.

I love this poem. Do I dare to eat a peach?

I don't know if there is any one answer to your question.

Analyzing poetry is all about BSing, don't you think? :wink:

Perhaps he chose the name bc of the lovely, apt sound of it. Just listen to it spoken......
Pru - frock....

conjures up dusty old things and domestic dreary moments.

Did you come up with your own answer for the question yet? I'm curious what you may have turned up!

I've read several times that the name was chosen just for the sound of it, the "pru" bringing to mind prudish, "frock" sounding fussy and stodgy. That's the only significance I've ever heard of.