low self-esteem issues and identity problems.The next stanza creates an image of a dull, damp autumn evening when the tea party he spoke of earlier will take place. Throughout the rest of the poem Prufrock spends much of his time imagining and orchestrating his arrival at the party, his attempt to converse intimately with the woman whose affection he seeks and his ultimate failure of making her understand him. Prufrock has attended these types of parties on prior occasions and knows the how they operate. This previous knowledge about how the parties work makes him hesitatant out of fear of failing again. He is concerned that anything beyond polite conversation with this woman will be met with refusal.Moving forward, Prufrock plans his actions to approach the woman, but at the same time is planning to put it off. The phrase “There will be time,” is repeated five times between lines 23 to 36. With this, he is justifying his delay. In lines 44 and 45 he asks himself “Do I dare/ Disturb the Universe?.” The universe he is referring to is his small group of social friends at this party. He fears that by expressing his feelings by singing a “love song”, he will be ostracized from the group. He already “knows them all” and understands their low expectations of him. In line 70 he begins to rehearse a dialogue intended for one of the women in the group. Only seconds later does he give up. He then states he would rather be a crab than a man who has to ask for affection.Since Prufrock never afforded himself the opportunity to fail with this woman, he began questioning his effort and whether or not it would have been worthwhile. He rationalizes his fear by telling himself that speaking to the woman would not have gained a response. Though in line 110, Prufrock contrasts himself with Hamlet. Knowing the story of Hamlet, he was a hero who was very hesitant and in the end made a very reso...
