The Biggest Misconception About Illusions in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Here’s what no one tells you: The illusions in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” are not just literary tricks—they are existential traps. Most readers assume that Prufrock’s allusions to Shakespeare or Dante are simply references, but they miss the deeper illusion at play: Prufrock is lying to himself.
One of the most powerful examples of illusion in the poem is Prufrock’s self-deception about time and possibility. He repeatedly tells himself:
“There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”
At first glance, this sounds like reassurance. He convinces himself that he has time to act, to speak, to take control of his life. But this is an illusion of agency—a comforting lie. As the poem unfolds, we realize that Prufrock has no time at all, or rather, he has wasted all of it. The repetition of “there will be time” becomes tragically ironic, because his indecision ensures that time is slipping away while he remains paralyzed.
The Deeper Illusion: Prufrock’s Delusion of Grandeur
Another powerful illusion in the poem is Prufrock’s fleeting comparison of himself to Hamlet:
“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two”
At first, this seems like self-awareness. He acknowledges that he is not a tragic hero, but rather a minor character in life’s grand drama. But here’s the trick: this, too, is an illusion. By casting himself as a mere “attendant lord,” Prufrock is giving himself an excuse to remain passive. Instead of confronting his own cowardice, he turns his failure into an inevitable destiny.
This is the true illusion of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: the lie that inaction is fate, rather than choice.
Why This Matters
Many readers focus on the poem’s external allusions—to Dante, to Shakespeare, to the Bible—but the most devastating illusion is internal. Prufrock creates a false reality where his indecision is justified, where he has infinite time, and where he was never meant to be great in the first place.
Eliot’s genius lies in revealing how we all do this—how we build illusions to avoid confronting our fears, how we tell ourselves that there will be time. But just like Prufrock, we may wake up one day to find that time has already run out.
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Is 165 cm normal for a 15 year old?
The predicted height for a female, based on your parents heights, is 155 to 165cm. Most 15 year old girls are nearly done growing. I was too. It's a very normal height for a girl.
Is 160 cm too tall for a 12 year old?
How Tall Should a 12 Year Old Be? We can only speak to national average heights here in North America, whereby, a 12 year old girl would be between 137 cm to 162 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/3 feet). A 12 year old boy should be between 137 cm to 160 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/4 feet).
How tall is a average 15 year old?
Average Height to Weight for Teenage Boys - 13 to 20 Years
| Male Teens: 13 - 20 Years) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 14 Years | 112.0 lb. (50.8 kg) | 64.5" (163.8 cm) |
| 15 Years | 123.5 lb. (56.02 kg) | 67.0" (170.1 cm) |
| 16 Years | 134.0 lb. (60.78 kg) | 68.3" (173.4 cm) |
| 17 Years | 142.0 lb. (64.41 kg) | 69.0" (175.2 cm) |
How to get taller at 18?
Staying physically active is even more essential from childhood to grow and improve overall health. But taking it up even in adulthood can help you add a few inches to your height. Strength-building exercises, yoga, jumping rope, and biking all can help to increase your flexibility and grow a few inches taller.
Is 5.7 a good height for a 15 year old boy?
Generally speaking, the average height for 15 year olds girls is 62.9 inches (or 159.7 cm). On the other hand, teen boys at the age of 15 have a much higher average height, which is 67.0 inches (or 170.1 cm).
Can you grow between 16 and 18?
Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. However, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a year or two more.
Can you grow 1 cm after 17?
Even with a healthy diet, most people's height won't increase after age 18 to 20. The graph below shows the rate of growth from birth to age 20. As you can see, the growth lines fall to zero between ages 18 and 20 ( 7 , 8 ). The reason why your height stops increasing is your bones, specifically your growth plates.