My Love Song @lovesongofjap-blog - Tumblr Blog

Stanza 12

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!

Smoothed by long fingers,

Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers,

Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.

Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,

Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?

But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,

I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short, I was afraid.

Uncertain Future

“Here comes the track star, the scholarly man,

Oh! How proud we are: so proud proud proud proud!”

Proud you may be, I do not deserve fans

I’m incredibly lost, head in the clouds

They all know what they want, down to the t

“A blue car, two kids: a girl and a boy

Jen and Stanley, oh how happy I’ll be!”

I know nothing: by this I’m annoyed

Perhaps ‘worried’ is most accurate, see

from what I can tell, my future is void

I’m scared to go on, to make decisions

For fear they’ll be wrong, and I’ll be destroyed

I’m frozen, I don’t want to take action

‘Will you go back to school? What career? Degree?’

I don’t know, I don’t know.. and the fear grips me

J. Alfred Prufrock admits that ‘he was afraid’, as he watched the Eternal Footman hold his coat and snicker. The Eternal Footman can be thought of to represent death, welcoming him into a dark, scary and unknown place. Just as Prufrock is scared of this unknown, Benjamin Braddock worries about his unknown future at the beginning of the Graduate.

Grace

The “eternal Footman” signifies death. J. Alfred Prufrock worried about growing older (and thus, coming closer to death) but moreover, dying without accomplishing something important with his life. In The Swimmer, Neddy has the same concerns about his mortality and thus, he sets out on his journey in an attempt to give his life meaning.

In my painting, I wanted to show Neddy Merrill attempting to escape the taunting of the “eternal footman” (the dark figure) and prove that he could achieve something great by swimming across the county. However, I depicted him in a panicked state since as the story progresses, we can see that his composure changes from calm and collected to desperate and confused.

Karen

The Great King Lear

Greatness, conquest: the good old glory days

When men rushed to obey, and lived to please

Me; the pristine legacy I had made

Served me well; everything came with ease

None dared to spite me, the mighty King Lear

Utmost power, the last word always mine

In the ones who doubted me, I struck fear

It seemed eternal, but then came the signs:

I banished my daughter, and then my friend

A creeping madness and a quick temper

Took fast hold of me as I neared my end

Right then, my greatness began to flicker

Mad enough to forget my own daughter

I fell as a king, a leader and father

J. Alfred Prufrock mentions that he’s seen “the moment of his greatness flicker.” This is similar to the fall of King Lear who, previously regarded as great and noble, becomes plagued by madness in his last moments of life. The temper and irrationality he develops in his old age makes those around him take advantage of him and become uncertain of his insanity: in these moments, King Lear’s greatness also flickers.

Grace

The Chorus Line: A Rope-Jumping Rhyme

“we are the maids the ones you killed the ones you failed we danced in air our bare feet twitched it was not fair with every goddess, queen, and bitch from there to here you scratched your itch we did much less than what you did you judged us bad you had the spear you had the word at your command we scrubbed the blood of our dead paramours from floors, from chairs from stairs, from doors, we knelt in water while you stared at our bare feet it was not fair you licked our fear it gave you pleasure you raised your hand you watched us fall we danced on air the ones you failed the ones you killed”

J. Alfred Prufrock says he is “not a prophet” and “this is no great matter”: this is reminiscent of Odysseus. Though commonly regarded as a hero in Greek mythology, his hanging of the maids can be considered ‘no great matter.’ The maids, in this chorus song, frequently repeat that he failed them when he killed them, hinting to the reader that the act was immoral and unheroic.

Grace

J. Alfred Prufrock claims that he is not a prophet though he has “wept and fasted, wept and prayed”. This indicates that the magnitude of his past sins must be grand enough to negate all of his holy actions to the point where he is definitively not a prophet. This is redolent of The Graduate, wherein Benjamin Braddock is praised for his scholarly excellence. He later hurts many people by having an affair with a married woman, not living up to the proud expectations most held for him.

Grace

The Prayers of King Lear

“…You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need! You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, As full of grief as age; wretched in both! If it be you that stir these daughters’ hearts Against their father, fool me not so much To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger, And let not women’s weapons, water-drops, Stain my man’s cheeks!”

As J. Alfred Prufrock “[weeps] and prays”, his tears indicate he is praying for forgiveness for his sins, especially because he later mentions his flickering greatness and how he is no prophet who holds no great matter. This is reminiscent of King Lear, as he prays: he calls to the heavens to give him the strength to fight back tears and instead have the “noble anger” to fight back to those taking advantage of him. Though both men are praying for different reasons, they both hold burdens so heavy (the weight of their sins or their conflicts) they must call upon higher powers to help them.

Grace

The Final Stretch

In this line of the verse, Prufrock asks himself “[Should I] have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?”. Similarly in The Swimmer, as Neddy Merrill takes on his final pool, he questions his ability to finish his journey home. He experiences intense fatigue which makes his last swim a difficult one. This picture that I drew is meant to be a depiction of the scene on page 737:

“...he went on to the Gilmartins’ pool. Here, for the first time in his life, he did not dive but went down the steps into the icy water and swam a hobbled sidestroke that he might have learned as a youth. He staggered with fatigue on his way to the Clydes’ and paddled the length of their pool, stopping again and again with his hand on the curb to rest. He climbed up the ladder and wondered if he had the strength to get home.”

Karen

In this line, “tea and cakes and ices” can relate to the various alcoholic drinks that Neddy Merrill consumed throughout his journey back home. Tea is a calming drink which helps you to relax and brings warmth. To Neddy, alcohol was his tea, since it brought him comfort and gave him energy: “He needed a drink. Whiskey would warm him, pick him up, the swimmer 733 carry him through the last of his journey, refresh his feeling that it was original and valorous to swim across the county.” (pg 733-734)

Karen

In this line J. Alfred Prufrock describes the evening to be “smoothed by long fingers”. This gives the impression that the evening is a time when everything is at ease. In The Graduate, Ben spends many of his evenings with Mrs. Robinson, engaging in extra-marital affairs. This picture shows Mrs. Robinson massaging Ben’s chest prior to intercourse. Thus, Ben’s evenings are smoothed by her long fingers.

Karen

After beginning his affair, Ben spends his afternoons relaxing in the pool and his evenings at the Taft Hotel with Mrs. Robinson. In both instances, he is lying down in a bed, which is where one “sleeps” or spends time resting. We can see that Ben is quite at ease and he passes his days “peacefully”.

Karen

#thegraduate #benbraddock

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

My Love Song