Quotes from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“For I have known them all already, known them all—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us... and we drown.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor -
And this, and so much more? -”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, and in short, I was afraid.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet--and here's no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid. ”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming question”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“It is impossible to say just what I mean!”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap
And seeing that it was a soft October night
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room
And twists one in her fingers while she talks.
"Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know
What life is, you who hold it in your hands";
(slowly twisting the lilac stalks)
"You let it flow from you, you let it flow,
And youth is cruel, and has no remorse
And smiles at situations which it cannot see."
I smile, of course,
And go on drinking tea.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'/Let us go and make our visit.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And through the spaces of the dark
Midnight shakes the memory
As a madman shakes a dead geranium.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Every street lamp that I pass
Beats like a fatalistic drum,
And through the spaces of the dark
Midnight shakes the memory
As a madman shakes a dead geranium.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And I must borrow every changing shape
To find expression ... dance, dance
Like a dancing bear,
Cry like a parrot, chatter like an ape.
Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
(They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!")
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
(They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!")
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles’ heel.
You will go on, and when you have prevailed
You can say: at this point many a one has failed.
But what have I, but what have I, my friend,
To give you, what can you receive from me?
Only the friendship and the sympathy
Of one about to reach her journey’s end.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“For I have known them all already,known them all.
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall,
Beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume?”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Sovegna vos.
Here are the years that walk between, bearing
Away the fiddles and the flutes, restoring
One who moves in the time between sleep and waking, wearing
White light folded, sheathed about her, folded.
The new years walk, restoring
Through a bright cloud of tears, the years, restoring
With a new verse the ancient rhyme. Redeem
The time. Redeem
The unread vision in the higher dream
While jewelled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question...”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I have seen the eternal Footman snicker hold my coat, and snicker. And in short I was afraid...”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“And when all the world came back And the light crept up between the shutters, And you heard the sparrows in the gutters, You had such a vision of the street As the street hardly understands;”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance,
Admire the moments
Discuss the late events,
Correct our watches by the public clocks.
Then sit for half an hour and drink our bocks.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

“I grow old … I grow old …I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind?
Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.”
― T.S. Eliot, quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

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Popular quotes

“One of the worst parts about someone dying is thinking back to all those times you didn’t ask the right questions, all those times you stupidly assumed you’d have all the time in the world. And this too: how all that time feels like not much time at all.”
― Julie Buxbaum, quote from Tell Me Three Things

“Se levanta y hace la cama, luego recoge del suelo unos libros de bolsillo (novelas policíacas) y los pone en la librería. Tiene ropa que lavar antes de irse, ropa que guardar, medias que emparejar y meter en los cajones. Envuelve la basura en papel de periódico y baja tres pisos para dejarla en el cubo de la basura. Saca los calcetines de Cal de detrás de la cama y los sacude, dejándolos sobre la mesa de la cocina. Hay trapos que lavar, hollín en el alféizar de las ventanas, cacerolas en remojo por fregar, hay que poner un plato bajo el radiador por si funciona durante la semana (se sale). Oh. Aj. Que se queden las ventanas como están, aunque a Cal no le gusta verlas sucias. Esa espantosa tarea de restregar el retrete, pasarle el plumero a los muebles. Ropa para planchar. Siempre se caen cosas cuando recoges otras. Se agacha una y otra vez. La harina y el azúcar se derraman sobre los estantes que hay encima de la pila y tiene que pasar un paño; hay manchas y salpicaduras, hojas de rábano podridas, incrustaciones de hielo dentro de la vieja nevera (hay que mantener la puerta abierta con una silla, para que se descongele). Pedazos de papel, caramelos, cigarrillos y ceniza por toda la habitación. Tiene que quitarle el polvo a todo. Decide limpiar las ventanas a pesar de todo, porque quedan más bonitas. Estarán asquerosas después de una semana. Por supuesto, nadie la ayuda. Nada tiene la altura adecuada. Añade los calcetines de Cal a la ropa de ambos que tiene que llevar a la lavandería de autoservicio, hace un montón separado con la ropa de él que tiene que coser, y pone la mesa para sí misma. Raspa los restos de comida del plato del gato, y le pone agua limpia y leche. «Mr. Frosty» no parece andar por allí. Debajo de la pila encuentra un paño de cocina, lo recoge y lo cuelga sobre la pila, se recuerda a sí misma que tiene que limpiar allí abajo más tarde, y se sirve cereales, té, tostadas y zumo de naranja. (El zumo de naranja es un paquete del gobierno de naranja y pomelo en polvo y sabe a demonios.) Se levanta de un salto para buscar la fregona debajo de la pila, y el cubo, que también debe estar por allí. Es hora de fregar el suelo del cuarto de baño y el cuadrado de linóleo que hay delante de la pila y la cocina. Primero termina el té, deja la mitad del zumo de naranja y pomelo (haciendo una mueca) y algo del cereal. La leche vuelve a la nevera —no, espera un momento, tírala—, se sienta un minuto a escribir una lista de comestibles para comprarlos en el camino del autobús a casa, cuando vuelva dentro de una semana. Llena el cubo, encuentra el jabón, lo deja, friega sólo con agua. Lo guarda todo. Lava los platos del desayuno. Coge una novela policíaca y la hojea, sentada en el sofá. Se levanta, limpia la mesa, recoge la sal que ha caído en la alfombra y la barre. ¿Eso es todo? No, hay que arreglar la ropa de Cal y la suya. Oh, déjalo. Tiene que hacer la maleta y preparar la comida de Cal y la suya (aunque él no se marcha con ella). Eso significa volver a sacar las cosas de la nevera y volver a limpiar la mesa, dejar pisadas en el linóleo otra vez. Bueno, no importa. Lava el plato y el cuchillo. Ya está. Decide ir por la caja de costura para arreglar la ropa de él, cambia de opinión. Coge la novela policíaca. Cal dirá: «No has cosido mi ropa.» Va a coger la caja de costura del fondo del armario, pisando maletas, cajas, la tabla de plancha, su abrigo y ropa de invierno. Pequeñas manos salen de la espalda de Jeannine y recogen lo que ella tira. Se sienta en el sofá y arregla el desgarrón de la chaqueta de verano de él, cortando el hilo con los dientes. Vas a estropearte el esmalte. Botones. Zurce tres calcetines. (Los otros están bien.) Se frota los riñones. Cose el forro de una falda que está descosido. Limpia zapatos. Hace una pausa y mira sin ver. Luego reacciona y con aire de extraordinaria energía saca la maleta mediana del armario y empieza a meter su ropa para”
― Joanna Russ, quote from The Female Man

“Revenge is living well, without you. -Joyce Carol Oates”
― quote from Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure

“Don't be afraid to ask for a rise, Sagittarius. Your boss always pay you less than your work is actually worth!”
― Robert Stone, quote from Dog Soldiers

“The deceits which her spinster's sentimentality has practiced on her original good judgment are legendary and colossal; she has this way of speaking of children's hearts as if they were something holy; it is hard for a parent to know what to say.”
― Alice Munro, quote from Dance of the Happy Shades

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