Alfred Prufrock is shown to be a master of indecision and
procrastination as he heads towards a date with a woman whom he plans to ask "some overwhelming
question" once they have finished their afternoon tea:
After the cups, the marmalade, the
tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and
me,
Would it have been worth while,
To
have bittten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the
universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming
question...
Although we are never told
what the nature of this question is, we can perhaps infer from the constant indecision and
self-doubt and lack of engagement in society expressed by Alfred Prufrock that he is
contemplating asking this woman to marry him. However, as much as he longs for romantic love and
the courage to assert himself, we see that he is bowed down by an intense fear of being
misunderstood and of being ridiculed by others. The poem ends before he reaches his date, and
this perhaps suggests that these fears will keep him isolated and alone and he will never come to
ask his question.
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