Since “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” was published in 1915, readers and critics alike have read the poem assuming that Prufrock is alive. Thus the poem becomes a reflection on Prufrock as a timid soul who cannot muster enough courage to ask a woman to marry him. But what if Prufrock is not alive? What if he is in fact a ghost who every so often gets the chance to tell his tale? Thinking of Prufrock as dead from the beginning of the poem, a shade come back to take us on a journey, is a rather simple and straight-forward way of viewing the poem. It is also liberating, for it changes the way you read many of the lines, and provides a rather compelling framework for integrating all aspects of the poem.
River Boat Books is a publisher of great literature and was founded in 1996 in St. Paul, MN on the banks of the Mississippi River. We chose the name to honor the indomitable, adventurous spirit of Mark Twain, whose presence lingers not only up and down the Mississippi, but across the landscape of American literature. Our titles reflect both the elegance of a bygone era and an unrelenting passionate commitment to breaking all boundaries and exploring new territory.