“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Poem Multiple Choice

  1. The speaker says that rather than Prince Hamlet he should be
  2. a servant
  3. an attendant lord
  4. a court jester
  5. a knight
  6. What has the speaker seen at dusk?
  7. well-dressed women en route to the opera
  8. worn-out women walking the streets
  9. lonely men in shirt-sleeves leaning out of windows
  10. smoke rising from chimneys
  11. The speaker says that he has measured his life with what?
  12. straight pins
  13. teaspoons
  14. coffee spoons
  15. butt-ends
  16. The speaker says that he has seen whom holding his coat and snickering?
  17. the eternal Footman
  18. Prince Hamlet
  19. Michelangelo
  20. the women in the room
  21. What do the women in the room talk about?
  22. Prince Hamlet
  23. Lazarus come from the dead
  24. Michelangelo
  25. the eternal Footman
  26. What does the speaker say he has known?
  27. eyes and feet
  28. eyes and ears
  29. eyes and arms
  30. arms and legs
  31. What image is used to describe the yellow fog?
  32. licked its foot
  33. slipped by the chimney
  34. rubbing its back
  35. falling in soot
  36. What will happen, according to the speaker, when human voices awaken him?
  37. He will become less timid.
  38. He will drown.
  39. He will become more aware.
  40. He will feel quite happy.
  41. The speaker says there will be time for all of the following but what?
  42. to murder
  43. to create
  44. to sleep
  45. to prepare a face
  46. What about his physical appearance most concerns the speaker?
  47. his unfashionable necktie
  48. his bald spot
  49. his voice
  50. his pale eyes
  51. Who, according to the speaker, will not sing to him?
  52. birds outside the window
  53. performers on the street
  54. mermaids in the sea
  55. the women in the room
  56. The speaker indicates that he has been examined as if her were
  57. an insect under a microscope
  58. an insect under a magnifying glass
  59. an insect pinned on a block of Styrofoam
  60. an insect pinned on the wall
  61. What activity does the speaker seem to be frequently engaged in?
  62. lying in bed
  63. eating alone in restaurants
  64. walking along the beach
  65. attending social teas
  66. In what month is this poem set?
  67. August
  68. September
  69. October
  70. November
  71. What, according to the speaker, makes him digress?
  72. a dress
  73. perfume
  74. necklaces
  75. bracelets
  76. What does the speaker say will happen when he grows old?
  77. He will wear a flannel hat.
  78. He will wear the bottoms of his trousers rolled.
  79. He will wear a shawl about his shoulders.
  80. He will wear baggy pants.
  81. What does the speaker not see as he walks through the city at the beginning of the poem?
  82. chimneys
  83. restaurants
  84. hotels
  85. stairways
  86. The speaker says that he is no
  87. Lazarus come from the dead
  88. Michelangelo
  89. Svengali
  90. prophet

Poem Short Answer

  1. Describe the world that the speaker lives in. Cite details from the poem in your description.
  1. Write a character sketch of the women with whom the speaker socializes. Cite details from the poem to support your ideas.
  1. Discuss the speaker’s perception of time. Cite details from the poem in your discussion.
  1. Analyze the personality of the speaker in the poem. Cite details from the poem to support your analysis.
  1. Write a physical description of the speaker.
  1. How would you describe the relationship between the speaker and the women with whom he socializes? Cite details from the poem to support your description.

Poetic Techniques Short Answer Questions

  1. What details does the speaker inadvertently reveal about himself through dramatic monologue?
  1. Explain the following allusions in the poem: the eternal Footman, Prince Hamlet, Michelangelo, Lazarus, and the head brought in on a platter.
  1. Explain how the poet uses stream of consciousness in the poem.
  1. Find an example of an extended metaphor in the poem. Explain the comparison being made.
  1. Explain the epigraph at the beginning of the poem and its connection to the poem.
  1. What effect does the repetition of certain lines and phrases create in the poem?
  1. Identify several concrete images in the poem.
  1. Find an example of enjambment in the poem.
  1. Find an example of alliteration in the poem.
  1. Whom is the speaker addressing?

Multiple Choice Answer Key

  1. B
  2. C
  3. C
  4. A
  5. C
  6. C
  7. C
  8. B
  9. C
  10. B
  11. C
  12. D
  13. D
  14. C
  15. B
  16. B
  17. D
  18. D