Eliots Life Reflected Towards His Poetry Eliot composed poems from within his experiences, physical or mental conditions and his own social observations. To fully comprehend Eliots work, we must first understand what he has gone through at specific times in his life. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock becomes a great example of were we must primarily understand what has happened to Eliot. There can be no simple equation between the experiences of the life and the poetry(Scofield 18). Eliots poetry became a reflection of himself, and this is especially noticeable with his poem, Prufrock.According to Scofield, Eliot became a victim from acute anxiety and depression in the earlier part of his life (17). This could have been due to Eliots failed marriage. Scofield also describes Eliot as having an unstable life. He states that Eliot took a leave of absence () on an account of an illness described as nervous breakdown(17). The poem Prufrock, is based on male anxiety and insecurity, possibly experienced by Eliot himself. Prufrock struggles with his anxiety, and through out the poem this can be seen by the way that he questions himself in lines thirty-eight to forty-one of Prufrock: To wonder, Do I dare? and Do I dare?Time to turn back and descend the stair,With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-[They will say: How his hair is growing thin!]This stanza shows how Prufrock worries about people judging him. Prufrocks insecurity, which is based upon an image of Eliots own insecurity, plays a major role in the poem. By the time this poem was completed, Eliot was in his thirtys. A man at that age, such as Eliots, fears of loosing his hair and of growing old. Insecurity can also be detected by how dependent Prufrock is on his attire for confidence. Line forty-two of Prufrock is an example of this:My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin-[They will say: But how his arms and l...
