A Comparison of the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Hamlet in Style and Content

William Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot are two of the most celebrated authors in the history of English literature. Their possibly most famous works, Hamlet and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock respectively, bear similarities in style and content. In Hamlet, the titular character ponders the value of humanity, amongst other issues, in powerful soliloquies directed towards the audience. The eponymous narrator of Prufrock questions his own worth as a man, employing dramatic monologue. Despite their character differences, both works examine the tortured psyche of the modern man through each protagonist’s indecisiveness.

Even though both men ponder the same questions, Prufrock and Hamlet display drastic differences in presence and outlook. Prufrock is a self-conscious man, perpetually anxious about making a fool out of himself, whilst Hamlet exemplifies princely majesty and charisma. Prufrock acknowledges this, casting himself as one who would “advise the prince” and acting “almost, at times, the Fool.” This description aligns mostly with Polonius in Hamlet, a bumbling fool eventually stabbed by Hamlet himself. Hence, this self-assessment by Prufrock speaks volumes about how he perceives himself and potentially his conception of his future. Consistent with this character analysis, Prufrock perpetually gazes out at the world with a pessimistic view, mirroring Hamlet’s initial perspective in the play. The distinction is that Prufrock’s pessimism is unwavering while Hamlet’s perspective leans towards optimism as the play proceeds (“Thou livest,” he says to Horatio, urging him to live). Perhaps it is this disparity in outlook that elevates Hamlet to an embodiment of majesty, while the eternally pessimistic Prufrock is second rate.

The character revelations occur within a specific poetic style: the dramatic monologue. Comparable to a soliloquy in a play, the dramatic monologue primarily focuses on the development and revelation of the speaker’s character. In both instances, the men comprehend that all of humanity, even the greatest individuals, are equal in the face of mortality. In the distinguished ‘Gravedigger scene’ Hamlet understands that all men eventually succumb to death and become forgotten (“Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay…”). The overly self-conscious Prufrock questions his genuine purpose from the very onset, manifested by his intensified paranoia over his appearance and fear of decision-making. Thus, both men are quintessential modern men: overeducated, eloquent, neurotic, and emotionally stiff.

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