In taking into consideration of her confinement, the loom, the mirror and/or Camelot, the part that presented the qualities of The Importance of Being Earnest and which happened to be most humorous would be covered. The mirror providing the reflection seems to be carrying the day. It reflects the shadow that makes her feel half sick. It then heightens the perceived tension that exists between the woman’s cloistered position and the world in the exterior.
There are presence of many and varying allusions in T.S Eliot’s work of art ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. When the speaker in the poem speaks about seeing his own head 'brought in upon a platter', serves as one example. This signifies the story of John the Baptist and Salome as recorded in the Bible. This serves as an allusion since it provides a somewhat indirect reference and its find in line 82 of the poem. In line 10, he borrows’ the phrase ‘overwhelming question’ from ‘The Pioneer’ 1823 James Fenimore Cooper’s novel. Another allusion is noted in lines 13-14 when Eliot uses the phrase ‘The womenMichelangelo’ borrowing it from Jules la Fordue a Uruguayan-born French poet. He also makes use of allusion when he uses the phrase ‘To have squeezed the universe into a ball’ found in line 92 of the poem. It is an allusion to Andrew Marvell’s work “To His Coy Mistress.”The other Biblical allusion is founded when he echoes ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead’ in line 94. He also borrowed allusions to metaphysical poets like John Donne also classical writers like Dante and Shakespeare. Referenced to when he talks of ‘No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be’.
One main reason why use allusion is applied by Eliot is aimed at drawing on a whole new literary list of themes and also expressions that are capable of creating a familiarity sense for the reader. The familiarity feeling naturally establishes a connection between the persona and the reader. Therefore the reader is able to identify him/herself with the persona (poet persona) since; the persona isn’t a unique personality. He is however, a combination of many figures and images. Eliot was aiming at achieving ‘impersonal poetry’-to effectively distinguish his art and his own personality hence, the use of allusions serving this end .
Works Cited
Nelson, ELizabeth. "The Embowered Woman: Pictorial Interpretations of "The Lady of Shalott"." 4 June 2009. The Victorian Web. Print. 3 Nov 2013.
Potts, Anstice. "Humanities 360." 10 May 2010. The use of Allusion in the Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. Print. 3 Nov 2013.
