Eliot’s “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” have a similar foundation: both are heavily influenced by youthful angst, the transcendent emotion that combines the unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible situation. Both discuss a speaker’s constant battle with his apparent damned state and not knowing when (or if) salvation will appear. Therefore, both delve into the deep and essentially philosophical nature of anxiety, world in general, metaphysics, and personal freedom. However, while the speaker in “Bohemian Rhapsody” seems to come to terms with his doomed reality with peaceful acceptance of his youthful angst, the speaker of “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” is despondent and brooding from his prolonged anxiety.
The intro of “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” sets the stage for angst to project: the reference to Dante’s Inferno implies that the speaker is stuck in his internalized depths of hell that no one has “returned” from (Eliot). The character is absorbed with his self-worth and prestige to his counter-parts. He questions his contributions in life with what he has to offer to the world. His doubt is reflected into his physique - he is characterized as a woebegone man with “hair… arms and legs growing thin,” fading like how he perceives his existence to others (Eliot). As others speak of Michelangelo, a legend of art, his insecurities cause him to see himself as “the Fool” who does not even pale in comparison (Eliot). Though his peers at parties do not notice him, his social anxiety augments the brevity of the situation - melodrama is present as he describes this social gathering as the death of him, when in actuality, is a trivial matter. He seemingly evades the triviality of his obsession, and only admits to the nature of his piddling questions once in the entire passage. His situation is not as impossible as he perceives.
Similarly, in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the speaker is distraught with his state. He feels like a “poor boy” who has been abandoned (Queen). However, interestingly enough, the speaker is not painted as a plain character that is afraid of being milquetoast and mediocre. Instead, the speaker is placed in a situation where he cannot help but watch -he endures tragedies beyond parties and social anxiety (Queen) by focusing on more philosophical components of his life. Instead of being a fool and one-dimensional character, like Scaramouche, a stock clown character from the commedia dell’arte, and focusing on fears of fame, he focuses on serious matters regarding his life. His existential crisis brings in the philosophical matter of life after death. He fears that since he had “killed a man,” he ended a“Life” that “had just begun” (Queen). Though introspective about his predicament, he also considers his options. He still opens his “eyes” and looks “up to the” sky to see his reality (Queen). Since his situation is so monumental, he doubts its existence and feels that it may be just fantasy. Unlike Prufrock, he ruminates on his actions instead of fixating on trivial matters. He embraces the course of life and has hope.
However, very much like Prufrock, the speaker of “Bohemian Rhapsody” faces a hard reality, and is faced with his own hell on Earth. Since he made a deal with the devil, “Bismillah… will not let him go” (Queen). To explain Bismillah refers to the name of god, and thus, the speaker is in a rock and a hard place: he is being punished by god for his misconduct and manipulated by the devil, Beelzebub. He is not afraid to face the truth; he comes to terms with his sin. Yet, he did not have the opportunity to live his life to the fullest since his life did not even begin. Much like Prufrock, the limitations that he placed on himself restricts him from ever enjoying his life to its full capacity. The pain that he must endure is arduous, making him pained all the time, like the withering of Prufrock as he grows old from his obsession. He begs the devil to listen to him. Unlike Prufrock, he dares to “disturb the universe” (Eliot) that did not choose to be benevolent so that he attempt to escape the grave he dug himself. Like Prufrock, he drowns until the “voices wake” him, and for now, he goes wherever the wind takes him. He accepts the domineering pain of life, while maintaining an underlying sense of hope.
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" is an interesting choice to analyze alongside Eliot’s “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” because their tones are so drastically different yet the message remains similar. In "Bohemian Rhapsody" the song is chaotic and all over the place while "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is more morose and has a lot less energy. It is also interesting that the song, which had more stark highs and lows, was the work where the angst was better resolved. This could be due to the fact that he acts on his emotions as you pointed out, while Prufrock does not dare to "disturb the universe." I also wonder if the format of the song versus a poem had any affect on the underlying sense of hope you found in the song.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your comparison of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” The fact that both pieces center on the idea of a “damned” character and his need to achieve salvation is an interesting idea. The evidence you provide for Prufrock’s anxiety over trivial matters and his characterization as “the Fool,” mirrors Bohemian Rhapsody’s narrator and his anguish over being a “poor boy.” While I wouldn’t have expected this particular song from the 1970s to imitate a poem from 1910, I believe that your analysis of these narrators and their problems displays how similar the two pieces actually are. One thing that would be meaningful to consider is the different endings of the narrators. You wrote that Prufrock is despondent and brooding while the speaker in “Bohemian Rhapsody” is calm and resigned to his fate. Why is Prufrock so anxious and brooding if he plans to do nothing about his situation, while the other speaker with similar issues accepts his ending? Does their fear of bad consequences lead to even worse ones? While these might be worthwhile to consider, I thought your argument was well-written and informative.
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