In this poem, daily life is a strain and a drag for
Prufrock. He expresses frustration in the daily routines, and in how meaningless it all
seems. Here's a good passage:
"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."
This refers
to how tedious and monotonous life is. One day is exactly like the previous, so it
feels like he knows exactly what is going to happen. The coffee spoons reference is how
we go through the exact routine every day (getting coffee in the morning, etc.). It
feels like his entire life is spent living and doing the same things over and
over.
Other references to daily life occur when he refers
to how there is ample time to analyze and mull over life's meaning "before the taking of
toast and tea," and how ridiculous it is that they go about speaking of silly, shallow
things ("Michelangelo") at these tea parties, over and over again, when all he wants to
do is address real issues, and talk about things that truly matter. Later, her refers
to his days as "butt-ends," a negative description that shows how he feels his days are
the useless butt-ends of living, worth only being spit out in
disgust.
All of this refers to his weariness of the
meaningless routine, and how he wants to get at the heart of matter and to have the
courage to speak what he really feels. I hope that helped; good
luck!
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