Consider the epigraph (Italian quote at the beginning) from Dante's Inferno.Why does Eliot begin the poem this way? How is the Love Song like a confession? What is Prufrock confessing? How is Prufrock's audience like Dante the pilgrim?
What physical features cause Prufrock anxiety as he imagines
going down the stairs? What does he imagine people will say about him?
Prufrock imagines people's eyes stabbing through his body
and impaling him to the wall where he wriggles as people examine him--why
would Prufrock use this imagery from bug-collecting? How is it appropriate?
Explain the biblical allusion to John the Baptist in lines 81-82.