Name________________________________________________________________________Period____________
The Modernist Struggle: Allusions, Images, and Emotions in T.S. Eliot’s “Prufrock”
Characteristics of modernist writing— Reality as a constructed fiction and the importance of
the unconscious (Freudian)
 Character: self is diverse, contradictory, ambiguous, multiple
 Plot: not linear, discontinuous, fragmented, chronological leaps in time, moments in
time, with unresolved endings, realistic vs. romantic
 Style: “stream of consciousness” nonlinear thought process, imagistic rather than logical
 POV: from the consciousness of one character with limited POV or of several who have
multiple perspectives
Emotions & themes: loneliness, alienation, indecision, inadequacy, pessimism
Directions: Highlight the allusions in the poem in one color in the text. Determine the
emotion suggested by that allusion and label it. Then choose two emotions, put each in the
box on the left side of the chart, and list the allusions that support that emotion.
Emotion
Supporting Allusion
Directions: Highlight the imagery in the poem in a different color in the text. Determine the
emotion suggested by that image and label it. Then choose two emotions, put each in the
box on the left side of the chart, and list the images that support that emotion.
Emotion
Supporting Imagery
Writing Assignment: Write an email letter to Prufrock from you, the voice of his online mental health adviser, explaining
your diagnosis based on his "love song"—his poem. Use letter form: a salutation, block paragraphs, a closing, and your
signature identifying yourself (creatively) as his "doctor."
Start by introducing "yourself" and your diagnosis (name two emotions from which he is suffering) in the opening
paragraph. Write another paragraph explaining your diagnosis (one emotion from the allusion chart) and support it with
allusion examples. Write another paragraph explaining your diagnosis (one emotion from the images chart) and support
with imagery examples. In a final paragraph, suggest how he might improve his state of mind. Do some informal
research to use for this last section.
Write a rough draft on loose leaf paper. After peer revising/editing with a partner in class, type the letter in an email as if
you were going to send it, but instead, print it out to turn in. Your email will be scored based on the scale below.
4
Has an introduction per
instructions above, has
identified two emotions
and provided apt
textual evidence for
each, and makes an
educated suggestion to
improve his health.
No grammatical errors.
3
Has a weakness in one
area: the intro,
emotions, evidence, or
the suggestion.
Has one or two
grammatical errors.
2
Has weaknesses in two
areas: intro, emotions,
evidence, or the
suggestion.
Has quite a few
grammatical errors.
1
Has weaknesses in all
categories and many
serious grammatical
errors.