The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The 'you' addressed in the opening line 'Let us go then, you and I,' possibly a companion or an aspect of Prufrock's own psyche.
Portrait of a Lady
The speaker who visits the lady, listens to her confidences, and struggles with his own emotional detachment and self-consciousness.
I
The narrator orchestrates the scene and reflects on the conversation, feeling an internal dissonance.
II
The speaker who listens to the woman's reflections, drinks tea, and later reads the comics and sporting page.
III
The narrator climbs the stairs, feels ill at ease, and engages in a strained conversation about travel and friendship.
Preludes
The narrator observes and reflects on the urban scenes, moving from a detached description to a personal, intimate address in the third section, and finally to a philosophical meditation on the soul and the world.
I
The narrator observes the winter evening scene, addressing 'your feet' and describing the urban landscape.
II
The narrator observes the morning scene and reflects on the hands raising shades in furnished rooms.
III
The narrator is the central figure, lying in bed, dozing, and observing sordid images of the soul.
IV
The speaker reflects on the soul stretched across the city and is moved by fancies of gentle suffering.
Rhapsody on a Windy Night
The speaker walks through the city, reflecting on memories and the scenes illuminated by street lamps.
Morning at the Window
The observing consciousness, detached and aware of the damp souls and twisted faces in the street.
The Boston Evening Transcript
The speaker who mounts the steps, rings the bell, and addresses Cousin Harriet.
Aunt Helen
The narrator recounts the death of his maiden aunt, Aunt Helen, and the aftermath in her household.
Cousin Nancy
The narrator observes and describes Nancy Ellicott's actions and the reaction of her aunts.
Mr. Apollinax
The observer who recalls Apollinax's visit and the reactions of those present.
Hysteria
The narrator is drawn into the woman's laughter and tries to regain control by focusing on her physical movements.
Conversation Galante
The male speaker who observes the moon and offers whimsical comparisons, then deflects the woman's challenge by claiming his own inanity.
La Figlia Che Piange
The speaker who imagines and reflects on the scene of parting, grappling with memory and desire.
Gerontion
The old man speaking from a decayed house, reflecting on his age and spiritual desolation.
Burbank with a Baedeker: Bleistein with a Cigar
Observes and narrates the scene, including Burbank's thoughts on time's ruins.
Sweeney Erect
The narrator commands the scene, calling for a depiction of a desolate shore and describing the action.
A Cooking Egg
The narrator observes Pipit and contemplates heavenly rewards versus earthly losses.
Le Directeur
The narrator observes and condemns the director and the polluted state of the Thames.
Mélange Adultère de Tout
The speaker adopts multiple professional and geographic identities, suggesting a fragmented or performative self.
Lune de Miel
The narrator observes the couple's journey and reflects on the state of Saint Apollinaire.
Ode
The speaker addresses the Volscians and reflects on violence and disillusionment.
The Hippopotamus
The speaker observes the hippopotamus and the Church, describing their contrasting fates.
Dans le Restaurant
The speaker who rebukes the waiter and reflects on Phlebas.
Whispers of Immortality
The observing voice that reflects on the poets and Grishkin, noting the modern condition.
Sweeney Among the Nightingales
The narrator observes and describes the scene, including Sweeney, the women, and the waiter, with a detached, almost clinical eye.
The Waste Land
The central consciousness that moves through the poem, observing and reflecting on the desolate landscape of modernity.
I: The Burial of the Dead
The narrator guides the reader through fragmented scenes, from the cruel spring to the Unreal City, and directly addresses the reader at the end.
II: A Game of Chess
The narrator shifts between observing the wealthy woman's scene and recounting the pub conversation about Lil.
III: The Fire Sermon
The voice that weeps by the waters of Leman, fishes in the dull canal, and invokes the Thames's lost beauty, serving as a witness to decay.
V: What the Thunder Said
The narrator experiences the arid landscape, walks with a mysterious companion, and reflects on the thunder's commands.
The Hollow Men
The collective voice of the hollow men, speaking as 'we' and 'I', expressing their emptiness and fear.
I
The speaker identifies themselves and their group as 'the hollow men' and 'the stuffed men,' describing their paralyzed, meaningless existence.
II
The speaker who dares not meet eyes in death's dream kingdom and wears deliberate disguises.
III
The narrator describes the dead land and the supplication of a dead man's hand, reflecting on death's other kingdom.
IV
The speaker describes the collective experience of the hollow men in the valley.
V
The narrator speaks in a collective, disembodied voice, reflecting on the universal failure of action and the hollow end of things.
Journey of the Magi
The Magus narrator reflects on the difficult journey and the unsettling spiritual aftermath of witnessing the birth.
A Song for Simeon
The speaker is an aged figure, likely Simeon, who has lived eighty years and speaks of his weariness and desire for peace.
Animula
The narrator reflects on the soul's journey from innocence to disillusionment.
Marina
The speaker who awakens to a vision of his daughter and reflects on death, grace, and renewal.
Ash-Wednesday
The speaker who renounces hope and worldly striving, undergoes a purgatorial ascent, and prays for mercy.
I
The speaker renounces hope and strives to accept the present, praying for mercy.
II
The speaker who is devoured by leopards and whose bones sing.
III
The speaker climbs the stair, struggling with inner demons and seeking spiritual grace.
IV
The narrator observes the figure moving between the violet and the varied green, reflecting on time, redemption, and exile.
V
The speaker reflects on the lost Word and the condition of those in darkness.
VI
The speaker expresses a lack of hope to return to former ways, wavering between profit and loss in a dreamcrossed twilight.
Juvenilia
The narrator appears across multiple poems, reflecting on love, time, and the absurdity of life.
A Fable for Feasters
The narrator recounts the fable from an old manuscript, providing a detached, ironic commentary on the monks' gluttony and the ghost's antics.
A Lyric
The speaker who reflects on time, mortality, and the imperative to live fully and love freely.
Song: When We Came Home Across the Hill
The speaker observes the unchanged landscape and the faded wreath, reflecting on hidden decay.
Before Morning
The narrator observes the dawn scene and reflects on the flowers' cycle of life and decay.
Circe's Palace
The narrator observes the grotesque garden and warns 'We shall not come here again.'
On a Portrait
The narrator observes the portrait and the woman, reflecting on her mysterious stillness and separation from the bustling world.
Song: The Moonflower Opens to the Moth
The speaker addresses a beloved, expressing desire for more vibrant passion.
Nocturne
The orchestrator of the dramatic climax, revealing a cynical and manipulative attitude toward romantic conventions.
Humoresque
The speaker observes the death of a marionette, reflecting on its trivial yet poignant existence.
Spleen
The narrator observes the Sunday procession and reflects on the erosion of self-possession and the dull conspiracy of routine.
Ode: For the Hour That Is Left Us Fair Harvard, with Thee
The speaker addresses Harvard as a collective 'we,' representing departing sons.
