Question

How does “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” break away from traditional poetic conventions? Select all that apply.

Answer 1

A.

The incorporation of many allusions to other texts breaks with poetic conventions inasmuch as poetry is traditionally based in telling the story of a character or a group of characters in a straightfowards fashion that does not refer to things outside the story except in a referential sense. This would be the case in most epic poetry, like the ´Iliad´ or ´Paradise Lost´.

B.

The poem distorts the traditional meaning of poetry in the sense that traditional poetry is based in the epic form, where clearly delineated characters are set out in some traditional heroic or tragic scenario. Prufrock´s existence is opposed to any real heroic or classic tragic plot.