TS Eliot expounds the thoughts and emotions of J. Alfred Prufrock in this poem about his love song. Eliot does this in such a way that Prufrock himself would not be able to express it, due to his logic of showing the reader Prufrock's distrust throughout the poem. The reader's attention is drawn early on by Eliot's use of an epigraph, which is a short saying or quotation placed at the beginning of a piece of writing to imply a theme. Eliot's epigraph method helps create an effective way for readers to identify and notice Prufrock's uncertainty and lack of confidence in the poem. In lines 61-66, shown below, we can see the epigraph used by Eliot, which is derived from Dante's Inferno: S'io credesse che mia risposta FosseA persona che mai tornasse al mondo,Questa fiamma staria senza piu scotsse.Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondoNon torno vivo alcun, si i’odo il vero, Senza tema d’infamia ti rispondo. (61-66) In the first stanza of the entire poem, Eliot opens by saying, “Let us then let you and I go,” he is referring to the audience as you in doing this. Therefore, everything he says throughout this reading is addressed to another individual. This is why this poem resembles that of a monologue and by comparing this poem to Dante's Inferno, Eliot distinguishes it from ordinary monologues. Lines 13-14 & 35-36, “In the room the women come and go/Speaking of Michelangelo,” Eliot locates a scene categorized by these repeated lines that occur twice in the same exact format. I believe this constantly repetitive line sets the scene for some kind of social gathering and the reference to "Michelangelo" might give the impression that the gathering is academically and J. Alfr related...... middle of paper.... ..l with verbal communication; however, it is not himself in the setting that illustrates the setting. This goes back to the discussion that he was speaking from another place like Dante did. Reflecting on the poem as a whole made Eliot's use of Dante's epigraphic passage logical and appropriate. Eliot's experiences help him to be able to write "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", in which he infers personal feelings in his troubled shadow known as Prufrock. The relationship to the epigraph in the poem is not only appropriate, but it explains how a worried and hesitant character such as Prufrock is able to narrate what he is trying to articulate in a poem without being present in the setting. This gives Eliot the advantage of writing in the first person. This in addition to his unusual, subtle and compelling method, he is able to hold the attention of his readers..