Comparision Of a Love Song and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

ALL MY LOVING by: THE BEATLES

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you (a)
Tomorrow I'll miss you (a)
Remember I'll always be true (a)
And then while I'm away (b)
I'll write home every day (b)
And I'll send all my loving to you (a)

I'll pretend that I'm kissing (c)
The lips I am missing (c)
And hope that my dreams will come true (a)
And then while I'm away (b)
I'll write home every day (b)
And I'll send all my loving to you (a)

All my loving, I will send to you (a)
All my loving, darling I'll be true (a)

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you (a)
Tomorrow I'll miss you (a)
Remember I'll always be true (a)
And then while I'm away (b)
I'll write home every day (b)
And I'll send all my loving to you (a)

All my loving, I will send to you (a)
All my loving, darling I'll be true (a)
All my loving, All my loving
Woo, all my loving, I will send to you (a)

The reason why I chose this song is the fact that it is very obviously a love song with many references to affection. This is a sharp contrast to Eliot's poem, if the title didn't state that the poem was actually love song the reader probably couldn't have guessed. The song that I chose has a lot of repetition of the lyrics and a simple rhyme scheme of a, a, a, b, b, a. This love song was clearly written for a lover since there are many references to "you" meaning a specific person, also there are affectionate words like loving, kissing, missing that are usually linked to love songs that makes the reader aware of the fact that they are listening to a love song. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" on the other hand only says you and I and to me that could mean any one, they don't have to be lovers, they can be friends. That is what makes the idea of this being a love song hard to grasp.

The author does talk about how the protagonist is always with someone else during all the stages of his life which could be a reference to a spouse. In both the love songs there is repetition in the Beatles song the repetition is an entire verse and the chorus while in the poem it is random sentences like "In the room women come and go, talking of Michelangelo" or "That is not it at all." Finally in the ninety sixth line the author mentions sex saying, "pillow by her head..." this may mean that the protagonist is sleeping with someone be it his wife or a lover.

Other than these small subtleties "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is not a typical love song. The poem is peaceful and happy which sets the correct mood for a love song. Also all the questions make me think of a shy man wondering how or when he should ask his love out, it's as though he is in love but maybe the woman doesn't know it. This is a poem that is very questionable and is not a very good love song. The Beatles song is simple and to the point telling the listening exactly what the writer is feeling unlike the poem where the protagonist seems happy but uneasy, or even at times dissatisfied. For a reader or listener I think love songs have to be straight forward so that we can understand the message or feelings of the author, I don't want to have to analyze a love song, poetry is made for analysis but I don't think love songs should be written that way. The author does mention a lover always there in the background but they should be the subject of the work, instead Eliot adds phrases that throw the reader off like talking about Michelangelo. I would have enjoyed this poem more if it had thoughtfully stated the authors feelings, it may have but there were so many distractions in the work that I didn't notice.