It is assumed that J. Alfred Prufrock is a character that T. S. Eliot creates through the use of dramatic monologue. Using this method, the speaker addresses a silent listener and sometimes reveals qualities that he or she later may regret sharing. Compare the oral readings of the poem with your written reading. Write a summary paragraph that evaluates which interpretation of the poem you prefer. Use evaluation criteria and details from each reading to explain your reasoning.

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Excerpt from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot

"And I have known the arms already, known them all —
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lies along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?
. . .

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?

I should have been a pair or ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas."