The only way of expressing emoting in the from of art is by finding the “ Objective correlative”

 

Objective Correlative- The only way of expressing emoting in the from of art is by finding the “ Objective correlative” in other words a set of objects a situation a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion, such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience are given, the emotion is are given the emotion is immediately evoked.

In this poem “ The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Eliot uses different images, symbols and other devices as media for the system of objective correlative.

The opening lines of the poem bombard the reader with a series of images which all depict a drab neighborhood and establish the atmosphere of disillusionment and passivity that suffuse the poem. The conceit in which Prufrock compares the evening to “a patient etherized upon a table”.

Using the phrase patient  etherizes upon a table Eliot indicates the existential crisis of Prufrock. Eliot compare the time of sundown with a patient who is under treatment and getting senseless using a simile to indicate the ending time of Profrock. Profrock self realization is that he is in old age. Thus he needs love to survive in the universe. Through the patent etherized upon a table this phrase is used to depict the scenery of nature and the ending time Profrock like but the speaker is focused more. In this poem, Pruprock takes us inside where man women gather in a party. Again the reader’s expectation is violently broken for he does not delve in to the woman’s world. Instead he depicts them as they are taking about Michael Angelo, a man whose image disturbs the hesitant Pruprock and reminds him of his lack of productivity.

“ In the room the women come and go talking of Michael Angelo”

As a result Profrock escape from this world and goes out.  Again the reader is bombard with even more imagery that conveys Prufrock’s discontentment with his surroundings. He talks about,

“ The Yellow fog that rubs its back upon the windows – Panes,

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window- Panes

Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening”

 

The above aforementioned images which are carried out through personification depict two important facts, concerning  Prufrock. The first fact asserts that the women’s world from which he has already escaped is foggy and mysterious and it is difficult for the awkward Profrock to Participate in it’s activities or even to understand it. The second portrays Prufrock as a person who wishes to enter and intermingle in this world despite the fact that is fully aware of his eternal defeat. He metaphorically stands out side, by the window and uses different senses. As the verbs “rubs” and licked” show, Prufrock anain says that

“ Do I dare, disturb the universe”

There is an allusion in this above line because it is taken from a novel named “ The chocolate war” In this novel Jerry was a schoolboy who rejects  the trading of chocolate.

Thus he was neglected by the whole school authority. Here, the speaker think that if he propose the striking beautiful lady, she will definitely reject him, Prufrock thinks that the universe will be disturbed if he dare to take a decision of making a marriage proposal to his beloved. For him taking a decision is a  momentous step like disturbing the universe. 

As the poem progresses, further allusions are introduced Prufrock alludes to Hamlet  in order to convince himself that his mission cannot be carried out in addition to be hesitant and indecisive

“ No! I am not price Hamlet, non was meant to be”

In this allusion, Prufrock excuses himself  for Hamlet was price and his mission was great but he acted decisively  at last that is why he says that he is not prince Hamlet.

So above all, I have tried to explored objective correlative in the poem Prufrock. He arranges these media in a way that shows Prufrock's emotion towards the society he lives in, his surroundings, his defects and  inner life. The poet succeeds in doing so by following a certain poetic technique which is a monologue. Through this technique Eliot makes Prufrock talk about himself openly and reveal his inner feeling concerning himself and things which surround him. He produces a series of images which show much about Prufrock's personality and his view towards life. These images range from discontentment to alienation and debasement and then to death-wish. He also uses some symbols which  are, somehow, textual which participate in revealing some other hidden facts about Prufrock's views towards himself where images cannot express them all. These symbols are all connected indirectly to sex. The most disputable ones are "the peach and hair" which play a vital role in showing Prufrock's shyness and impotence. Other devices such as allusions, repetitions and the use of the present tense, explain Prufrock's hesitation, indecision and his motionlessness in a constant mobile world. All these techniques are carried out with the help of the web of the objective correlative.