In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo.
___ is a notable literary work by ___. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of ___.
Answer
Explain with reference to the context- “In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo.” [NU: 2016]
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) published “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” in 1915. The poem is a dramatic monologue that shows the mind of J. Alfred Prufrock. The line “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” appears twice in the poem as a refrain. It reflects Prufrock’s sense of distance, hesitation, and failure to connect with others.
Social Scene: The lines describe a group of women moving about in a social gathering. They are busy with their talk of Michelangelo, the great artist of the Renaissance. This detail shows the culture and refinement of the group. But for Prufrock, the scene is far away. He notices the women, but he cannot join their talk or take part in their world.
Prufrock’s Isolation: The refrain shows Prufrock’s loneliness and insecurity. He is only an observer in the room, not a participant. He repeats the image because it troubles him. He desires the woman but feels powerless to speak. Their graceful movements and cultured talk increase his sense of weakness and isolation.
Symbolic Meaning: Michelangelo is not only a name in their talk. He stands for a tradition of high art and achievement. For Prufrock, this world of culture is distant and unreachable. The women and Michelangelo together symbolize a life of beauty and confidence from which he feels excluded. This deepens the theme of alienation in the poem.
In short, the mentioned lines capture Prufrock’s inner conflict. They show the contrast between a world of culture and his own fear of failure. The refrain expresses his loneliness, his silence, and his distance from both love and tradition.