0;And indeed there will be time/ To wonder, “Do I dare?” and “Do I dare?” (37-38). He is doubting himself. He is afraid. He wants to leave. He is too old, skinny and unfashionable to do this. That is the gossip that is floating around in his head, not necessarily the gossip floating around the party. Prufrock is being very paranoid and doubtful. I also get a sense of helplessness from Prufrock that seems to be a recurring theme in the poem.Rationalizations. That is what lines 54-60 are. Rationalizations to make himself feel better. He knows it is time for him to do what he came here for. He is confused. Doesn’t know how to tell her it’s over. He is nervous. This is what we came here for. It wasn’t the party or the gossip, it was for this. That is why we were invited along, to act as support, even if we are silent. Is it right to tell her, or should he lead her on? The doubt that is racing through his head is enough to make anyone dizzy.From confusion and doubt to hopeless and tired. “And I have known the arms already, known them all” (61). They are all the same, and he’s tired. “Is it the perfume from a dress/ That makes me so digress?” What is it that has him making second thoughts about this one? Can I do this, he seems to be asking himself. What should I do? This question seems to be directed toward the “you” in the poem. The guests (the reader) in the poem. It is like Prufrock’s attempt to include, or maybe hide behind the guest he has invited.In lines 70-72 he seems to be rehearsing exactly what he will say to her, but then in lines 73 and 74 he starts to wish he was something else so that he wouldn’t have this problem.“And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!” (75). He appears to be saying that he is comfortable with her, she makes him calm. And yet again he begins to doubt himself. H...
