Analysis of Eliot's Poetry Collection in the Context of the 19th Century

T.S. Eliot's bibliography

The first collection of this period (19th century), is called the Prufrock and Other Observation which was written in 1917. It consists of 12 compositions written between 1910 and 1916. They are characterized by a fragmentation of language, which would become the author's stylistic hallmark.
The best-known poetry in this collection is The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, that was written between 1910 and 1911, when Eliot was still studying at Harvard. In 1914 it was shown to Ezra Pound, who was so enthusiastic about it that he had it printed in 1915. Since then, it has become one of the most frequently anthologized and published of Eliot's poems.

In 1920, T.S. Eliot published his second poetry collection called Poems. Here, one of the most known poetry is Gerontion in which, through the voice of an old man it is expressed the cultural and spiritual crisis of the modern age.

In 1922, The Waste Land was published. It is considered one of the main literary works of the Modernism. It depicts a post WWI world that is so fragmented, desolate, and decadent that only alienation allows the human being to live there.
It is also a literary work full of mythology and literary references.

In 1925, The Hollow Man was published. The philosophy underlying the poetry is Pessimistic because it is shown how the man is hanging in the balance between spirituality and existential emptiness.

In 1930, Ash Wednesday is published. Here, the poetry is all about religion, as it recounts the poet's spiritual journey that led to his conversion.

The last poetry collection is called Four Quartets because it is formed by four long poetries (Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages, Little Gidding) written in 1943. It can be considered the most mature collection of Eliot's literary production. Here the main themes are: time, eternity, memory, meditation, and spirituality.

What are the plot and main themes of Prufrock and Other Observation?

It can not be said there there is a real plot in the poem but rather a situation.
As a matter of fact, on a soft October evening Prufrock is going to a tea-party where he has decided to declare his love to a lady. But he is too timid to propose and his visit leads to nothing.

It can be understood that the main essential themes of the whole poem are the uselessness of one's actions, the frustration and weakening of one's personality as well as the lack of resolution, the airiness of gestures repeated by inertia, without an aim, without a future, and the consequent final inaction.

Structure and style of the poem

The poem is a dramatic monologue more or less like Browning's but without a real structure. It is, in fact, articulated by a quite fragmentary language, although apparently the tones are relaxed, superficial and somewhat repetitive. It is also obscure even if occasionally casual and ironic.
The couplets are the majority in the poem. The length of the lines varies; there is frequent use of the enjambment, which gives the poem a particular colloquial tone.