Sonnet 20 is one of the best-known of 154 sonnets written by the

English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. Part of the Fair Youth sequence
(which comprises sonnets 1-126), the subject of the sonnet is widely interpreted as
being male, thereby raising questions about the sexuality of its author. In this sonnet
(as in, for example, Sonnet 53) the beloved's beauty is compared to both a man's
and a woman's.

Sexuality[edit]
The modern reader may read sonnet 20 and question whether or not Shakespeare's
sexuality is reflected in this sonnet. When looking at the sexual connotations in this
sonnet it is important to reflect on what homoerotism meant during the time that
Shakespeare was writing. Casey Charles discusses the idea that there was no
official identity for a gay person at this time. There were words that identified what we
would consider to be homosexual behaviour, but the idea of a "gay culture" or "gay
identity" did not exist.[4] Charles goes on to say that early modern laws
against sodomy had very few transgressors, which means that either people did not
engage in homosexual behavior or these acts were more socially acceptable than the
modern reader would think. Shakespeare's awareness of the possible homoeroticism
in Sonnet 20 does not necessarily illuminate whether or not he himself was actually
practicing homosexual behavior.[4]
One of the most famous accounts to raise the issue of homoeroticism in this sonnet
is Oscar Wilde's short story "The Portrait of Mr. W.H.", in which Wilde, or rather the
story's narrator, describes the puns on "will" and "hues" throughout the sonnets, and
particularly in the line in Sonnet 20, "A man in hue all hues in his controlling," as
referring to a seductive young actor named Willie Hughes who played female roles in
Shakespeare's plays. However, there is no evidence for the existence of any such
person.[5]

Analysis[edit]
While there is much evidence that suggests the narrator's homosexuality, there are
also countless academics who have argued against the theory. Both approaches can
be used to analyze the sonnet.
Philip C. Kolin of the University of Southern Mississippi interprets several lines from
the first two quatrains of Sonnet 20 as written by a homosexual figure. One of the
most common interpretations of line 2 is that the speaker believes, "the young man
has the beauty of a woman and the form of a man...Shakespeare bestows upon the
young man feminine virtues divorced from all their reputedly shrewish infidelity."[6] In
other words, the young man possesses all the positive qualities of a woman, without
all of her negative qualities. The narrator seems to believe that the young man is as
beautiful as any woman, but is also more faithful and less fickle. Kolin also argues
that, "numerous, though overlooked, sexual puns run throughout this indelicate
panegyric to Shakespeare's youthful friend."[6] He suggests the reference to the
youth's eyes, which gild the objects upon which they gaze, may also be a pun on
"gelding…The feminine beauty of this masculine paragon not only enhances those in
his sight but, with the sexual meaning before us, gelds those male admirers who

1
temporarily fall under the sway of the feminine grace and pulchritude housed in his
manly frame."[6]
Amy Stackhouse suggests an interesting interpretation of the form of sonnet 20.
Stackhouse explains that the form of the sonnet (written in iambic pentameter with an
extra-unstressed syllable on each line) lends itself to the idea of a "gender-bending"
model. The unstressed syllable is a feminine rhyme, yet the addition of the syllable to
the traditional form may also represent a phallus.[7][clarification needed] Sonnet 20 is one of
only two in the sequence with feminine endings to its lines; the other is Sonnet 87.
[8]
Stackhouse emphasizes the ambiguity of the addressee's gender throughout the
sonnet, which is resolved only in the final three lines. She writes that many parts of
the sonnet—for example the term "master mistress"—maintain uncertainty around
the gender of the sonnet's subject.[7]
This idea of nature is also reflected in Philip C. Kolin's analysis of the last part of the
poem as well. Kolin's observation of Shakespeare's discussion of the man being for
"women's pleasure" does not lend itself to this idea of bisexuality or gender-bending
at all. Kolin is saying that nature made him for "women's pleasure" and that is what is
"natural".[6] Kolin goes on to say that the phrase "to my purpose nothing" also reflects
this natural aspect of being created for women's pleasure. In this, however, he takes
no account of Shakespeare's common pun of "nothing" ("O") to mean vagina.
[9]
Whereas Stackhouse would argue the poem is almost gender neutral, Kolin would
argue that the poem is "playful" and "sexually (dualistic)".[6]

The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander

Pope.[1] One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque, it was first
published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellaneous Poems and Translations (May
1712) in two cantos (334 lines); a revised edition "Written by Mr. Pope" followed in
March 1714 as a five-canto version (794 lines) accompanied by six engravings. Pope
boasted that this sold more than three thousand copies in its first four days. [2] The
final form of the poem appeared in 1717 with the addition of Clarissa's speech on
good humour. The poem was much translated and contributed to the growing
popularity of mock-heroic in Europe.

Description[edit]
The poem of The Rape of the Lock satirises a minor incident of life, by comparing it
to the epic world of the gods, and is based on an event recounted to Alexander Pope
by his friend John Caryll. Arabella Fermor and her suitor, Lord Petre, were each a
member of aristocratic recusant Catholic families, at a time in England when, under
such laws as the Test Act, all denominations except Anglicanism suffered legal
restrictions and penalties. (For example, Petre, being a Catholic, could not take the
place in the House of Lords that would otherwise have been rightfully his.) Petre had
cut off a lock of Arabella's hair without permission, and the consequent argument had
created a breach between the two families. The poem's title does not refer to the
extreme of sexual rape, but to an earlier definition of the word derived from
the Latin rapere (supine stem raptum), "to snatch, to grab, to carry off" [3][4]—in this
case, the theft and carrying away of a lock of hair. In terms of the sensibilities of the

2
age, however, even this non-consensual personal invasion might be interpreted as
bringing dishonour.
Pope, also a Catholic, wrote the poem at the request of friends in an attempt to
"comically merge the two" worlds, the heroic with the social. He utilised the character
Belinda to represent Arabella and introduced an entire system of "sylphs", or
guardian spirits of virgins, a parodised version of the gods and goddesses of
conventional epic. Pope derived his sylphs from the 17th-century French Rosicrucian
novel Comte de Gabalis.[5] Pope, writing pseudonymously as Esdras Barnivelt, also
published A Key to the Lock in 1714 as a humorous warning against taking the poem
too seriously.[6]
Pope's poem uses the traditional high stature of classical epics to emphasise the
triviality of the incident. The abduction of Helen of Troy becomes here the theft of a
lock of hair; the gods become minute sylphs; the description of Achilles' shield
becomes an excursus on one of Belinda's petticoats. He also uses the epic style of
invocations, lamentations, exclamations and similes, and in some cases
adds parody to imitation by following the framework of actual speeches in
Homer's Iliad. Although the poem is humorous at times, Pope keeps a sense that
beauty is fragile, and emphasizes that the loss of a lock of hair touches Belinda
deeply.
The humour of the poem comes from the storm in a teacup being couched within the
elaborate, formal verbal structure of an epic poem. It is a satire on contemporary
society which showcases the lifestyle led by some people of that age. Pope arguably
satirises it from within rather than looking down judgmentally on the characters.
Belinda's legitimate rage is thus alleviated and tempered by her good humour, as
directed by the character Clarissa.

Summary

In the beginning of this mock-epic, Pope declares that a "dire offence" (Canto 1 line
1) has been committed. A lord has assaulted a "gentle belle" (line 8), causing her to
reject him. He then proceeds to tell the story of this offence.
While Belinda is still asleep, her guardian Sylph Ariel forewarns her that "some dread
event impends". Belinda then awakes and gets ready for the day with the help of her
maid, Betty. The Sylphs, though unseen, also contribute: "These set the head, and
those divide the hair, some fold the sleeve, whilst others plait the gown" (146–147).
Here Pope also describes Belinda's two locks of hair "which graceful hung behind".
The Baron, one of Belinda's suitors, greatly admires these locks and conspires to
steal one. Building an altar, he places on it "all the trophies of his former loves" (line
40), sets them on fire and fervently prays "soon to obtain, and long possess" (line 44)
the lock.
Ariel, disturbed by the impending event although not knowing what it will be,
summons many sylphs to her and instructs them to guard Belinda from anything that
may befall her, whether she "forget her prayers, or miss a masquerade, Or lost her
heart, or necklace, at a ball" (line 108–109). So protected, Belinda arrives
at Hampton Court and is invited to play a game of ombre.

3
The conspiring Baron acquires a pair of scissors and tries to snip off one of her locks,
but he is prevented by the watchful Sylphs. This happens three times, but in the end
the Baron succeeds (also cutting a Sylph in two although Pope reassures us,
parodying a passage in Paradise Lost, that "airy substance soon unites again" [line
152]). When Belinda discovers her lock is gone, she falls into a tantrum, while the
Baron celebrates his victory.
A gnome named Umbriel now journeys to the Cave of Spleen and from the Queen
receives a bag of "sighs, sobs, and passions, and the war of tongues" (canto 4 line
84) and a vial filled "with fainting fears, soft sorrows, melting griefs, and flowing tears"
(line 85–86) and brings them to Belinda. Finding her dejected in the arms of the
woman Thalestris, Umbriel pours the contents over them both.
Many people, moved by Belinda's grief, demand the lock back, but the Baron is
unrepentant and refuses. Clarissa admonishes them to keep their good humour, but
they will not listen and instead a battle ensues with glares, songs and wits as
weapons. Belinda fights with the Baron and throws snuff up his nose to subdue him.
When she demands that he restore the lock, however, it is nowhere to be found. It
has been made a constellation and is destined to outlast the contestants.

Prufrock

Description[edit]
Title[edit]
In his early drafts, Eliot gave the poem the subtitle "Prufrock among the Women." [11]:
41
This subtitle was apparently discarded before publication. Eliot called the poem a
"love song" in reference to Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Love Song of Har Dyal", first
published in Kipling's collection Plain Tales from the Hills (1888).[17] In 1959, Eliot
addressed a meeting of the Kipling Society and discussed the influence of Kipling
upon his own poetry:
Traces of Kipling appear in my own mature verse where no diligent scholarly sleuth
has yet observed them, but which I am myself prepared to disclose. I once wrote a
poem called "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": I am convinced that it would
never have been called "Love Song" but for a title of Kipling's that stuck obstinately in
my head: "The Love Song of Har Dyal".[17]
However, the origin of the name Prufrock is not certain, and Eliot never remarked on
its origin other than to claim he was unsure of how he came upon the name. Many
scholars and indeed Eliot himself have pointed towards the autobiographical
elements in the character of Prufrock, and Eliot at the time of writing the poem was in
the habit of rendering his name as "T. Stearns Eliot", very similar in form to that of J.
Alfred Prufrock.[18] It is suggested that the name "Prufrock" came from Eliot's youth
in St. Louis, Missouri, where the Prufrock-Litton Company, a large furniture store,
occupied one city block downtown at 420–422 North Fourth Street.[19][20][21] In a 1950
letter, Eliot said: "I did not have, at the time of writing the poem, and have not yet
recovered, any recollection of having acquired this name in any way, but I think that it
must be assumed that I did, and that the memory has been obliterated." [22]

4
Epigraph[edit]
The draft version of the poem's epigraph comes from Dante's Purgatorio (XXVI, 147–
148):[11]: 39, 41

'sovegna vos a temps de ma 'be mindful in due time of my pain'.

dolor'. Then dived he back into that fire which refines
Poi s'ascose nel foco che gli them.[23]
affina.

He finally decided not to use this, but eventually used the quotation in the closing
lines of his 1922 poem The Waste Land. The quotation that Eliot did choose comes
from Dante also. Inferno (XXVII, 61–66) reads:

S'io credesse che mia risposta If I but thought that my response were
fosse made
A persona che mai tornasse al to one perhaps returning to the world,
mondo, this tongue of flame would cease to
Questa fiamma staria senza piu flicker.
scosse. But since, up from these depths, no one
Ma perciocchè giammai di questo has yet
fondo returned alive, if what I hear is true,
Non tornò vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero, I answer without fear of being shamed.[24]
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.

In context, the epigraph refers to a meeting between Dante Alighieri and Guido da
Montefeltro, who was condemned to the eighth circle of Hell for providing counsel
to Pope Boniface VIII, who wished to use Guido's advice for a nefarious undertaking.
This encounter follows Dante's meeting with Ulysses, who himself is also condemned
to the circle of the Fraudulent. According to Ron Banerjee, the epigraph serves to
cast ironic light on Prufrock's intent. Like Guido, Prufrock had never intended his
story to be told, and so by quoting Guido, Eliot reveals his view of Prufrock's love
song.[25]
Frederick Locke contends that Prufrock himself is suffering from a split personality of
sorts, and that he embodies both Guido and Dante in the Inferno analogy. One is the
storyteller; the other the listener who later reveals the story to the world. He posits,
alternatively, that the role of Guido in the analogy is indeed filled by Prufrock, but that
the role of Dante is filled by the reader ("Let us go then, you and I"). In that, the
reader is granted the power to do as he pleases with Prufrock's love song.[26]
Themes and interpretation[edit]
Because the poem is concerned primarily with the irregular musings of the narrator, it
can be difficult to interpret. Laurence Perrine wrote, "[the poem] presents the
apparently random thoughts going through a person's head within a certain time
interval, in which the transitional links are psychological rather than logical".[27] This
stylistic choice makes it difficult to determine exactly what is literal and what is
symbolic. On the surface, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" relays the thoughts
of a sexually frustrated middle-aged man who wants to say something but is afraid to
do so, and ultimately does not.[27][28] The dispute, however, lies in to whom Prufrock is

5
speaking, whether he is actually going anywhere, what he wants to say, and to what
the various images refer.
The intended audience is not evident. Some believe that Prufrock is talking to
another person[29] or directly to the reader,[30] while others believe Prufrock's
monologue is internal. Perrine writes "The 'you and I' of the first line are divided parts
of Prufrock's own nature",[27] while professor emerita of English Mutlu Konuk
Blasing suggests that the "you and I" refers to the relationship between the dilemmas
of the character and the author.[31] Similarly, critics dispute whether Prufrock is going
somewhere during the course of the poem. In the first half of the poem, Prufrock
uses various outdoor images (the sky, streets, cheap restaurants and hotels, fog),
and talks about how there will be time for various things before "the taking of a toast
and tea", and "time to turn back and descend the stair." This has led many to believe
that Prufrock is on his way to an afternoon tea, where he is preparing to ask this
"overwhelming question".[27] Others, however, believe that Prufrock is not physically
going anywhere, but rather, is playing through it in his mind.[30][31]
Perhaps the most significant dispute lies over the "overwhelming question" that
Prufrock is trying to ask. Many believe that Prufrock is trying to tell a woman of his
romantic interest in her,[27] pointing to the various images of women's arms and
clothing and the final few lines in which Prufrock laments that the mermaids will not
sing to him. Others, however, believe that Prufrock is trying to express some deeper
philosophical insight or disillusionment with society, but fears rejection, pointing to
statements that express a disillusionment with society, such as "I have measured out
my life with coffee spoons" (line 51). Many believe that the poem is a criticism
of Edwardian society and Prufrock's dilemma represents the inability to live a
meaningful existence in the modern world.[32] McCoy and Harlan wrote "For many
readers in the 1920s, Prufrock seemed to epitomize the frustration and impotence of
the modern individual. He seemed to represent thwarted desires and modern
disillusionment."[30]
In general, Eliot uses imagery which is indicative of Prufrock's character,
[27]
representing aging and decay. For example, "When the evening is spread out
against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table" (lines 2–3), the "sawdust
restaurants" and "cheap hotels", the yellow fog, and the afternoon "Asleep...tired... or
it malingers" (line 77), are reminiscent of languor and decay, while Prufrock's various
concerns about his hair and teeth, as well as the mermaids "Combing the white hair
of the waves blown back / When the wind blows the water white and black," show his
concern over aging.
Use of allusion[edit]
Like many of Eliot's poems, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" makes numerous
allusions to other works, which are often symbolic themselves.

 In "Time for all the works and days of hands" (29) the phrase 'works and days' is
the title of a long poem – a description of agricultural life and a call to toil – by the
early Greek poet Hesiod.[27]
 "I know the voices dying with a dying fall" (52) echoes Orsino's first lines
in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[27]
 The prophet of "Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in
upon a platter / I am no prophet — and here's no great matter" (81–2) is John the

6
 Baptist, whose head was delivered to Salome by Herod as a reward for her
dancing (Matthew 14:1–11, and Oscar Wilde's play Salome).[27]
 "To have squeezed the universe into a ball" (92) and "indeed there will be time"
(23) echo the closing lines of Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'. Other phrases such
as, "there will be time" and "there is time" are reminiscent of the opening line of
that poem: "Had we but world enough and time".[27]
 "'I am Lazarus, come from the dead'" (94) may be either the beggar
Lazarus (of Luke 16) returning for the rich man who was not permitted to return
from the dead to warn the brothers of a rich man about Hell, or
the Lazarus (of John 11) whom Jesus Christ raised from the dead, or both.[27]
 "Full of high sentence" (117) echoes Geoffrey Chaucer's description of the Clerk
of Oxford in the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.[27]
 "There will be time to murder and create" is a biblical allusion to Ecclesiastes 3.[27]
 In the final section of the poem, Prufrock rejects the idea that he is Prince Hamlet,
suggesting that he is merely "an attendant lord" (112) whose purpose is to
"advise the prince" (114), a likely allusion to Polonius — Polonius being also
"almost, at times, the Fool."
 "Among some talk of you and me" may be[33] a reference to Quatrain
32 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ("There
was a Door to which I found no Key / There was a Veil past which I could not
see / Some little Talk awhile of Me and Thee / There seemed — and then no
more of Thee and Me.")
 "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each" has been suggested
transiently to be a poetic allusion to John Donne's "Song: Go and catch a falling
star" or Gérard de Nerval's "El Desdichado", and this discussion used to illustrate
and explore the intentional fallacy and the place of poet's intention in critical
inquiry.[34]