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Response 2B
Topics: Prufrock says he isn’t Prince Hamlet, yet is he right? ❧ Compare the character of Prufrock and Hamlet in terms of uncertainty or psychological crisis. ❧ Who is more depressed, Prufrock or Hamlet? ❧ To what degree does humour alleviate the pessimism of the characters? ❧ How do allusions to Hamlet and Polonius help to delineate Prufrock’s character? ❧ Creative option: using imagery, metaphor or allusion that comes directly from one or more of this week’s texts, write a depiction of your state of mind during COVID-19.
Prufrock, Hamlet, & COVID-19
COVID-19 is prison. Our once thriving lifestyles have turned into the daunting reality of locked up days and nights in our homes, leaving only to gather materials essential to live. Healthcare heroes gaining their hard earned titles, by putting their lives at risk to care for those suffering. Lost lives, broken hearts, and a new reality; the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on people from all over the world. It has resulted in the isolation of families/individuals to reduce the spread of this deadly virus. While virtual existence is our current reality, we remain locked up in our homes until life returns to a new “normal”.
*** This response has many very accurate and heartfelt points, yet it doesn’t work very well as a response to the material in the course because it’s hard to see what the student is using from the text, and how this is developed. The response topic reads, “using imagery, metaphor or allusion that comes directly from one or more of this week’s texts, write a depiction of your state of mind during COVID-19.” Responses also has this: “In some weeks you have the option to do a creative response. In these cases, analysis gives way to creativity, yet make sure that your creativity is coherent, understandable, and clearly linked to the texts.” To improve their response, the student might have quoted Hamlet’s phrase “Denmark is a prison” and Rosencrantz’s response, “Then I guess the whole world is one,” and then personalized the notion that the nation and the world are connected: globalism can bring you pain and insecurity (as with COVID-19) as well as opportunities to enrich your lives with trade, travel, connection between cultures, etc. Or the student might have quoted Marcellus, who says that there’s “something rotten in the state of Denmark,” to which Horatio replies, “Heaven will direct it,” and then explored the personal belief (or disbelief, or doubt) that Heaven is guiding the world through the present crisis. This might then be connected to the type of thing another student wrote about the to be or not to be soliloquy: “if our world falls apart so easily due to one pandemic what is the meaning of the rat race or what is the meaning of even getting up in the morning. It has set us back so far and put everything on hold that I question the stability and drive behind our society.”
The reason I’ve spent so long on this particular response is that it brings up a very important point: in writing about literature, you must always make it clear what you’re doing with in the literature itself. Whether analytical or creative, whether in a response or in an essay, your points must always be clearly and consistently connected to the text.
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The following four responses are more clearly linked to the text. The 5th shifts toward horror, while the 6th links the key phrase “Do I dare disturb the universe?” to a poetic view of the student’s emotional landscape. #7 provides a simplified yet subtle graphic, followed by a personal take on the present crisis.
#1
My state of mind during this COVID-19 pandemic has been calm. When I lay down in my bed to go to sleep, it feels “like a patient etherized upon a table”. My mind would be quite bored at times as well. Learning from my teachers online as well as typing up my assignments. “The afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully” is what my mind is doing during those times of the day. Resting and yawning from a long day’s work from studying and learning.
#2
In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a metaphor that encapsulates my state of mind is when it mentions a, “Like a patient etherized upon a table”. Currently, there is so much news, updates and information being thrown around on television, radio and newspaper that it overwhelms me and puts me into a non-complacent and limp kind of mentality. It’s not like the information itself that is making me limp and lifeless, but rather it’s exhausting how many updates there are and how relentless the news is, which causes me to think in a apathetic way.
#3
Within The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Eliot states, “there will be time to prepare a face to meet all the faces that you meet.” This line strongly resonates with myself as while dealing with COVID-19 I often feel exceptionally confined and stuck due to the quarantine. I find myself feeling overly antisocial as well as unproductive. However, these lines are a hopeful reminder to myself, eventually things will get better and there will be a time once again to see and communicate with loved ones on a platform that is not considered a virtual spectrum.
#4
Prufrock speaks of the “yellow smoke and fog” that is literally everywhere from the sky above all the way to the ground. He creates metaphors describing smoke as if his life is this giant haze by saying it is like an “animal.” Similar to the state of mind from these weeks now turned months of this feeling of being trapped in a haze without doing the things we normally did in our ordinary lives before COVID-19. There is certainly a tone of bleakness as we wander around without a sense of purpose, but as Prufrock states “there will be time.” (100 words).
#5
My mind is messy, sloppy and loose, like that of an etherized patient. They would call it anesthesia awareness. In this horrid malaise, I sit and witness the horrifying events going on around me. With no windows and grime on the walls, they prepare their saws and needles. What happens next will be horrifying, but I will feel none of it. Every limb is numb, and I begin to think that no matter what happens to me I will feel nothing but indifference. It clouds my mind more than any drug the surgeons could have provided.
#6
Alone. From the outside, silence. On the inside, silence. Two feet of concrete separates my voice from the rest of the world. Heart and mind connected, itching for a sense of normalcy. The scent of spring petrichor, the touch of gentle rain followed by the sudden warmth of the sun, as the clouds break in favour of a bright blue sky. The ones with power ask me to withhold my urges, but I must break free! Do I dare disturb the universe, in accordance of my own wishes? For I have known them all already, yes, I have known them all. Within a minute’s time, the decisions I made have been reversed. Another day of silence, for it will all be worthwhile.
#7
During these challenging times, one must learn to trust those who are closest to them. Not metaphorically, but physically. Much like Hamlet, I know not who I can trust with my health, as each passing person could be the one who betrays me, who feels they are beyond reproach. They breath in fresh air, and exhale death, a poisonous black cloud following in their wake. It is these thoughts that drive my paranoia as I scowl from my window, watching the unmasked rash fools, whom I hoped were my better.
The Depression Games: Prufrock vs. Hamlet
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to me is an examination of a overworked, psychologically stressed man. Prufrock seems to be more depressed than Hamlet and I make these assumptions based on the context of the passage where Prufrock is a emotionally, neurotic strained individual. In Prufrock’s mind, he scolds himself for presuming that there would be any emotional intimacy at all between him and his women. Throughout the poem Prufrock demonstrates isolation and loneliness by saying “I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter” and especially at the end of the poem where he states “I do not think that they will sing to me”, stating he knows he is lonely and he knows he is isolated.
*** This response has some good parts, yet despite is excessive length (120 words) it doesn’t deal adequately with Hamlet. Also, it needs proofreading: an overworked; arguments rather than assumptions; an emotionally, the women; will sing to me,” indicating.
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Prufrock struggled with being very indecisive when it came to making big decisions and as a result he missed out on many opportunities, which is why he claims he is not worthy enough to be someone as important or respected as Prince Hamlet. His indecisiveness is seen when he talks about being capable of performing the same responsibilities as a Prince but unlike Hamlet, Prufrock was not able to act on his potential due to the fear of others rejecting him "I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker". (90 words)
*** This response is very clear, except for the final sentence, which also needs to be coordinated grammatically (it’s a fused sentence — see Marking for grammar terms and errors).
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Prufrock “measured” his underwhelming life in terms of all the mundane social gatherings and small talk (“Michelangelo”). Prufrock recognizes himself as balding, frail, middle-aged “old” man, a specimen “pinned” to the wall, questioning the epic meaning of his life, perhaps a mid-life “crisis”. His youthful appeal and life’s possibilities are gone. He realizes his life has wasted away, and the years ahead are bleak and devoid of pleasure. Although Hamlet’s life was full of loss, deceit, and corrupt politics, there is nothing more depressingly tragic than one day realizing your life has been potentially wasted, lonely, and unfulfilled--like Prufrock’s’. (100)
*** This response is very well-written, yet some of the points about Prufrock border on observation (rather than argument) and the coverage of Hamlet could be wider and/or more specific.
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Hamlet’s and Prufrock’s psychological crisis is similar yet different. While the former is plagued with the uncertainty of after-life and suicidal thoughts, the latter is afflicted with self-scrutiny and embarrassment. Prufrock’s swerving mind signifies his insecurity and inferiority complex. The recurrent phrase “There will be time” bespeaks of the consoling psyche Prufrock employs to justify his lifelong inaction. Contrarily, Hamlet ponders over the inevitability of death wrestling with the thoughts of enduring lifetime agonies or putting one’s self “to sleep”, albeit the latter would lead to an unknown realm.
*** This response is good, especially the first three sentences. The last two sentences have strong ideas, yet awkward expression: bespeaks is somewhat archaic; consoling psyche employs sounds odd; ponders the; death, wrestling.
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Prufrock has many psychological strife’s that are quite like Hamlet’s anguish, although ironically, he proclaims he is nothing like his counterpart. Prufrock seems to believe himself to be a “minor” character in his own story, “to start a scene or two” while Hamlet had an entire play written about him. It ties into his own negative perspective of himself, but Hamlet’s disarray stems from his grieving of his late father, who then commands his son to avenge his death, while Prufrock feels his insecurity stems from his own ineptness and faults, which may very well be of his own imagination.
*** This response has many good points and only a few minor errors (many psychological strife’s should be something like much psychological turmoil; It is an unclear referent; the final sentence is run-on).
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Eliot takes us on a trip to party, along with it, a journey through a man’s (Prufrock) mind. Prufrock is a closeted man, secretive and insecure. His perspective through this poem remains mostly in a negative light, with sparing moments of positivity being snuffed out by anxiety or fear as soon as they spark. An impairing insecurity of self (realities of age) stalk Prufrock during his struggle for womanly interaction. In contrast, Hamlet’s woes are of outward source: spies sent to watch him, love being kept away, a murdering uncle. Affliction caused by oneself (Prufrock) versus those around you (Hamlet).
*** This response is very strong, yet the student should proofread more carefully: avoid excessive use of parentheses (Prufrock’s mind would work, as would insecurities of old age; caused by others in the case of Prufrock versus those caused by those around you in the case of Hamlet); make sure that subject agrees with verb (insecurity stalks), and avoid sentence fragments (the final sentence).
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Both Prufrock and Hamlet’s monologues are depressing cries for help: both of them use the metaphor of a dream to describe their desire for an escape from the waking world. Hamlet uses sleep to symbolize the afterlife, something which he both fears and yet desires. Meanwhile, Prufrock compares his dream to the siren’s songs and the mermaids in his dream to the women he desires; then describes waking from his dream as drowning. Both characters are caught in the choice between the inescapable misery they see in their own lives and their fear of what lies beyond the grave.
*** This response is very strong, although the distinction between Prufrock’s desired fantasy and Hamlet’s fearful afterlife seems a bit fuzzy at the end. I would say that Prufrock’s return to the world makes him drown metaphorically, which implies that the dream is more positive (yet unattainable) than in Hamlet, where death is literally unavoidable and the terrifying afterlife is fearful and uncertain. In a case like this, I give the benefit of doubt to the student, since the word limit makes it hard to include everything and since the student may well have in mind other moments in the poem where Prufrock fears death, as when he refers to the eternal Footman and says, “in short, I was afraid.” This response may lack a bit of clarity at the end but it’s clear up to that point. Also, it’s valuable because it pushes the reader into difficult areas and into thought-provoking possibilities.
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The following responses are also very strong, although some improvements could be made. #1 needs to distinguish the play, Hamlet, from the character, Hamlet, and could supply a brief sense of what Hamlet is optimistic about. #2 makes a strong nautical parallel, yet could use some proofreading: In Prufrocks last stanza requires an apostrophe (Eliot’s last stanza is better); like perhaps sending him to hell. #3: outshine and optimistic are too positive; following after his pessimistic views, leave out of a human life. #4: in his personal way is a bit unclear; also, Hamlet’s end is tragic, while Prufrock’s might be seen as sad or depressing (tragedy carries a heavier and more specific weight in literature than in everyday speech). #5 is without error.
#1
In Hamlet, the character ponders the value of humanity, whereas Prufrock questions his own worth as a man. Both characters show the same psychological issue, which is indecisiveness. Though both men ponder the same problem, Hamlet and Prufrock are very different in terms of presence. Prufrock is a man who persistently worries that he will make a fool out of himself, while Hamlet embodies charisma. Prufrock looks out on the world with a pessimistic view, just as Hamlet did. But the difference between them is that while Prufrock is consistently pessimistic, Hamlet begins looking out with more optimism to live. (100 words)
#2
Hamlet is more depressed than Prufrock, because he contemplates suicide, whereas Prufrock contemplates participating in life, but doesn’t consider ending it. In Prufrocks last stanza, he’s tempted to swim with ‘mermaids’, or to pursue the fruits of life, but feels they will not ‘sing to [him]’, so he stays on the beach to avoid drowning. In contrast, Hamlet considers ’take[ing] arms against a sea of troubles”, by killing himself, and only decides against doing so because he fears ’what dreams may come’, or that ending his life may bring an undesirable result, like perhaps send him to hell.
#3
Both Hamlet and Prufrock are in a depressive state, but though Prufrock is depressed, his indecisiveness and cowardly nature outshine his depressive state while Hamlet’s optimistic thought of death emphasizes his depressive state. When Hamlet states “man delights not me: no, nor woman neither”, it shows a comical side of Hamlet for a moment after his pessimistic views of a human life. Similarly, Prufrock reveals his “bald spot” on his head in a sad yet humorous way to show his insecurities. Lastly, while Prufrock’s indecisiveness is similar to Hamlet’s character, he bears more resemblance to Polonius who bends to the will of someone of authority, however Prufrock bends to the will of his own cowardly nature, which rules his life.
#4
Hamlet and Prufrock share the same tragic flaw; they are both self-doubting men who fail to take action. Prufrock is a hesitant man and though he knows what to say in his mind, he fails to voice it and stays stagnant. When he compares himself to Hamlet, he quickly rejects his importance and proceeds to compare himself to Polonius; which makes the self-consciousness between the two men even more similar. Prufrock is the Danish Prince in his personal way as both men spend their entire time analyzing and re-analyzing each decision without taking any action, which ultimately leads to their own tragic ending.
#5
Both Hamlet and Prufrock are plagued by self-doubt and indecision typical of depression, however Hamlet is able to rally within himself and act while Prufrock can’t. Prufrock fixates - “Do I dare?... How should I presume?” - yet never acts, concluding the poem with a hopeless statement that the mermaids won’t sing to him. Hamlet also questions, but is never far from action or speech. He is certainly tormented and in despair, but ultimately decides and acts: he gets the players to perform his scene, shuts out Ophelia, and ultimately kills the king. Prufrock is definitely the more depressed of the two. (100 words)
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