Love and Unsatisfied Desire

Where it surfaces

• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

  Prufrock's longing for romantic connection is thwarted by his fear of rejection and miscommunication, as seen in his imagined dialogue where the woman says 'That is not what I meant at all.'

• Portrait of a Lady

  The lady's longing for emotional intimacy and the speaker's inability to respond create a pervasive sense of unfulfilled desire.

• I

  The atmosphere of 'Juliet’s tomb' and the emphasis on things 'left unsaid' suggest a longing for connection that remains unfulfilled.

• II

  The woman's longing for connection and the speaker's emotional distance underscore unfulfilled desire.

• III

  The conversation reveals unfulfilled romantic expectations and the failure of feelings to develop into friendship.

• Hysteria

  The narrator's intense focus on the woman's body suggests a desire that is both consuming and ultimately unfulfilled.

• Conversation Galante

  The flirtatious yet defensive exchange between the speakers suggests a longing for connection that remains unfulfilled, masked by wit and deflection.

• La Figlia Che Piange

  The imagined parting and the speaker's longing for a simple, faithless farewell reflect unfulfilled romantic desire and the pain of separation.

• Sweeney Erect

  The sexual encounter is depicted as mechanical and devoid of genuine connection, with the woman's hysteria and the ladies' gossip underscoring the unsatisfying nature of desire.

• A Cooking Egg

  The contrast between Pipit's mundane companionship and the imagined heavenly brides (Lucretia Borgia, Piccarda de Donati) highlights unsatisfied longing.

• Whispers of Immortality

  Grishkin's sensual appeal is acknowledged but ultimately unfulfilling, as the speaker's lot 'crawls between dry ribs' to keep metaphysics warm.

• The Waste Land

  The failed relationships in 'A Game of Chess' and the typist's mechanical encounter with the young man carbuncular illustrate the emptiness of modern love.

• II: A Game of Chess

  Both the wealthy woman's frantic need for communication and Lil's pragmatic marriage reflect unfulfilled emotional and physical desires.

• III: The Fire Sermon

  The typist's encounter is devoid of passion or connection, reduced to a 'patronising kiss' and a half-formed thought of relief, reflecting the failure of love in the modern world.

• Ash-Wednesday

  The Lady and the 'Rose' symbolize a love that transcends earthly desire, yet the speaker wrestles with the torment of both unsatisfied and satisfied love.

• II

  The bones sing of love unsatisfied and love satisfied as torment, highlighting the theme of unfulfilled desire.

• Juvenilia

  Poems like 'Song' and 'The Moonflower Opens to the Moth' express longing for love that remains unfulfilled or fleeting.

• A Lyric

  The speaker implores to live while love is free and to pluck anew despite the withering of flowers, suggesting a longing for love that is both urgent and precarious.

• Song: The Moonflower Opens to the Moth

  The speaker's plea for 'brighter tropic flowers' underscores a yearning unmet by the beloved's pale offerings.

• Nocturne

  The poem mocks the idealized, eternal love of Romeo and Juliet, reducing it to a banal performance that ends in a contrived tragedy.