Dantonio 1

Lauren Dantonio
Professor Johnsen
ENG 320A
7 November 2015
T.S. Eliot and W.H. Aden as Modernists
According to The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word modernism can
be defined as a style of movement in the arts that aims to break with classical and
traditional forms (OED). When it comes to modern themes, there is no one who
captures the essence of modernism better in his poetry than T.S. Eliot. He embodies
modernism poetry through the usage of imagery, tone, and style. Another well-regarded
modernism poet is W.H. Auden. Both Auden and Eliot write on themes of love, humanity,
and age that touch each and every reader in a different way. T.S. Eliots The Love Song
of J. Alfred Prufrock and Audens The Secret Agent both embody a work of
modernism structurally and thematically.
Written when he was only twenty two years old, The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock, written by T.S. Eliot, opens with an epigraph written in Italian taken from
Dantes Inferno. Eliot does not do the reader the courtesy of translating these lines, so
further research was done to conduct the meaning of the epigraph. These particular lines
discuss a man who is in Hell and tells Dante of his discretions while believing that Dante
will repeat them to no one. The fact that Eliot begins his poem with an excerpt from
Dantes mid-evil work is intriguing because the relevance is hard to find at first. It makes
the reader think about what mid-evil ideas might be present within this modern poem. At
the end of the poem, the reader may see the resemblance in the setting found in each

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work. Eliots poem begins this way because Prufrock, the speaker, believes that the world
he lives in is comparable to Hell, which the actual setting of Dantes work Inferno.
Prufrocks first lines spoken are, Let us go then, you and I (1). This first line
already sets the poem up as one with modernism tones. A common theme of modernism
is that there are sometimes multiple speakers. Here, in these particular lines, the reader is
unsure with whom the speaker appears to be talking to; is he talking to the reader, or to
another person there with him? Eliot sets the modernism stage well with the first line in
the poem. Next, Prufrock begins to tell the audience that he is going to a certain place and
In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo (13-14). This line is
repeated again on lines 35-36 to give the audience the visual that he does see and observe
these women, but he does not talk to them. It also gives a rhyming reference to
Michelangelo, the Renaissance painter, which is interesting because most of the poem is
written in free verse. He goes on to describe the city in which he lives, giving it an
unpleasant and dismal sound by using adjectives like yellow fog and yellow smoke.
While describing the setting, Eliot romanticizes the city using eloquent language but it is
really quite disgusting and foul. He fulfills another criteria of a modern work by
describing a bustling and busy city, which seemed a popular place for the modern man.
A strong characteristic found in modernism writing is the concept of selfconsciousness, especially in social settings. In stanza six, Prufrock reveals his self
consciousness. He repeats the line Do I dare? twice in one sentence, which
demonstrates his extreme anxiety in social settings. He cares immensely about what
people will say about him behind his back, which is made evident when he says, Time to
turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair- (They will say:

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How his hair is growing thin!) (39-41). Then, he asks the question of Do I dare? one
more time, and follows it with Disturb the universe? (46). The enjambment that occurs
in between these two lines places a specific emphasis on Prufrocks belief that he should
remain a wallflower. If not, he fears that he will disrupt the Universe, or upset the way
that things should be. Perhaps the reason that Eliot does this is to make Prufrock seem
more relatable. Every human being has flaws and is self- conscious about certain things.
Although Prufrocks worries are trivial, they are human which makes them real.
In the next three stanzas, Eliot ends the first sentence in each with the same three
words, known them all. Prufrock gives off a sense of tiredness and redundancy as he
repeats a select few lines multiple times throughout the poem. Prufrock describes in great
detail the arms of women that he has noticed so vividly and then follows with Is it
perfume from a dress / That makes me so digress? (65-66). Although Prufrock seems
wildly observant; he appears scatter brained and easily distracted, especially by the body
and scent of women.
Dantes Inferno appears relevant again when Eliot writes, I am Lazarus, come
from the dead, / Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all(94-95). Lazarus refers
to the Biblical character of Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus. Like Dante in
the Inferno he was allowed to come back from the dead. Also, this Biblical allusion goes
hand and hand with intellectual allusions that modernists were so fond of writing about.
Skipping ahead a few stanzas, Prufrock makes an allusion to William Shakespeares
Hamlet. He says, No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be (112). This line is
curious because Prince Hamlet is an extremely unlikable and indecisive character in the
eyes of many. By using this allusion, Eliot is trying to convey the idea that Prufrock is

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even more questioning and unpleasant than Hamlet, arguably one of the worst characters
in British literature. Through using Prince Hamlet, Eliot again alludes to a well known
work.
The poem concludes with Prufrocks mind in a fantasy world. He says, I have
heard the mermaids singing, each to each (124). Mermaids are fictional creatures so the
reader understands that Prufrock is daydreaming. However, even in his mind he does not
believe mermaids, or women, would give him attention. He whines, I do not think that
they will sing to me (125). Unable to even dream of women giving him attention, the
poem ends as sad and hopeless as it began.
Similar to Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Audens, The Secret
Agent is an unrhymed as well. However, this poem does not talk of love but instead
deals with trickery and betrayal. The betrayal appears evident especially in lines three and
four. Auden writes, He, the trained spy, had walked into the trap / For a bogus guide,
seduced by old tricks (3-4). The language used in this line gives the reader a visual to
what is going on in the poem. Also, the imagery seems to show the graveness that comes
with the spy getting caught and also intensifies it. The second stanza describes the
experience that the spy has prior to being caught and how They ignored his wires
(7). Auden also uses landscape imagery, a trait of modernism, throughout the poem. For
example, he writes, For weeks up in the desert. Woken by water / Running away in
the dark (10-11). The poems overall tone of isolation becomes evident when the
speaker describes, he often had / Reproached the night for a companion (11-12).
The lack of human contact, and need for it, drives the subject of the poem to despair. The
poem concludes with a line from the Anglo-Saxon poem Wulf and Eadwacer. The line

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reads, Parting so easily two that were never joined (14). Here, Auden borrows a line,
and an idea, that is not his own in order to call on the separation, hopelessness, and
despair found within the original text that uses the line. In doing so, Auden further makes
his poem that of modernism because of the inter-textual allusions found within in.
A common trait found within modernism works is the topic of wartime, in
particular World War I. It gained popularity around the time that World War I began, and
went on until the end of World War II. It is considered to be a time when some of the
most realistic pieces about the world were written. Therefore, it is fitting that The Secret
Agent is the work of a modernist because it clearly deals with wartime. The title alerts
the reader right away that it is a work that will discuss clandestine events because it has
the word agent in it. However, looking at the poem on a deeper level, it is possible that
perhaps Auden is not discussing actual wartime at all, but instead psychological warfare.
He could very well be using war as an allegory for the mind. Perhaps, when he writes,
..For a bogus guide, seduced by the old tricks (4), he is referring to the speaker taking
part in, or falling for something that he knows better of. The speaker may feel alone and
isolated because he feels lonely without a companion to call his own. This feeling of
isolation is one that the modern man would no doubt feel at one point or another, thus
making it modern as well.
T.S. Eliot is still to this day known as one of the greatest modernist poets of all
time. He was so great that he influenced other great poets, like W.H. Auden. Audens vast
array of sonnets and other free verse poetry concentrate mainly on both political and
psychological issues. Although he may not be considered an outright modernist, some
of his works speak otherwise. The entire idea of modernism exists to change conventional

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ways of thinking and transform typical traditions that human beings rely on. It challenges
typical ideals and goes in depth about serious issues such as humanity, love, war, etc. The
modernist poets threw our rules set by previous standards of poetry and free verse and
unrhymed rhyme scheme became extremely popular. T.S. Eliot capitalized on this. As
found in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot loved to write in free verse.
Audens The Secret Agent follows no rhyme scheme either. Both poets seem to
experiment with meter and tone. Also, modernist poets used as many allusions in their
works as possible. Eliot goes a bit overboard in doing this by referencing Dante, the
Bible, Shakespeare, and artists. Audens usage of an Anglo-Saxon poem fulfills this
category as well. Both of the authors use vivid and powerful imagery in the poem
discussed above. For instance, the landscape imagery in both seems exceptionally vivid.
The imagery found in the poems enhances the authors tone and theme. Neither Audens,
nor Eliots, theme is upbeat and optimistic. Instead, both of their themes in these
particular poems are lonely, distressed, and ultimately hopeless which make them
realistic. Modernists main concern was making sure that their works had a sense of
realism to them. Furthermore, a common trait found within modern writing was that of a
stream of consciousness. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock demonstrates this
beautifully through what appears as divided consciousness. The speakers repeated use of
You and I and together challenges the reader to question to whom he is speaking to.
His distracted nature shows his stream of consciousness and shows the thought process of
modern man. Eliot is able to show through his speaker, the thoughts and self
-consciousness that many humans think and feel. Although Audens poem does not
straight up show stream of consciousness, it does give insight to the subject of the poems

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inner thoughts and longings. Both of the poets concentrate on ideas that are realistic in
nature. The Secret Agent, deals with social concerns that would be extremely revelvant
at the time. Both Auden and Eliot concentrate on human suffering brought on by human
condition and war, whether it be actual war or psychological. In conclusion, The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Secret Agent capture the essence of what a
modernism poem should be.