The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot tells the speaker's story through several literary devices, allowing the reader to analyze the poem through the symbolism, character qualities and allusions that the work displays. In this way, the reader clearly sees the speaker's despair and apathy toward his future. John Steven Childs sums it up well by saying that Prufrock's "chronic indecision blocks him from certain important actions" (Childs). Every literary device – symbolism, character, and allusion – supports this description. Ultimately, the premise of the poem is that Prufrock endlessly questions himself before talking to a woman, but this problem represents all forms of insecurity and inactivity. First, Eliot weaves several layers of symbolism into Prufrocks' narrative. This ambiguity is largely apparent through the vehicle of the yellow fog, which Eliot personifies with feline characteristics using expressions such as "...rubs its back...rubs its snout against the windows" and "...curls once around from the house, and I fell asleep” in reference to the mist (Eliot). This feline depiction of the city's smog creates a strange setting that reinforces the tone of instability of Prufrock's ramblings. The infiltrating movements of the fog also reflect the uncontrolled movements of Prufrock's thoughts and his polluted self-image which causes him to question his every move endlessly (Childs). The smog is uncontrollable and indefinable, as are Prufrock's emotions when dependent on his nonexistent actions (Childs). In another instance, Eliot interrupts the deep, incessant wanderings of the speaker's mind with the phrase: "In the room the women come and go talking about Michelangelo" (Eliot). These women symbolize the society in which Pr...... middle of paper ....... “Prufrock and other observations”. Magill Survey of World Literature. Internet. January 2009. Eliot, Thomas Stearns. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Chicago: Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, 1915. Print.Demaggio, Kenneth. “The Unknown Cloud Behind the Yellow Fog: The Medieval Religious Journey in TS Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” » The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society. Flight. 2.2. Internet. 2013. Lowe, Peter. “Shelleyan Identity in TS Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” International Publications Center. P. 65-74. Internet. 1999. Campo, Carlos. "Identifying the 'Lazarus' in Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'." Notes in English. September 1994. Print.McCormick, Frankie J. "Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and Shakespeare's Hamlet." » Eastern Illinois University. P.43-47. Print.