Dramatic Monologue and Stream of Consciousness in Poetry

Question 15 • IC English 11 - Deering

Which lines from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" provide an example of stream of consciousness?

Answer

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table;

And indeed there will be time To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” Time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

And indeed there will be time For the yellow smoke that slides along the street, Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;

Explanation

Choice C shifts from the speaker’s outward plan to his private, anxious thoughts: “Do I dare?” He then imagines turning back and worries about his bald spot, following the flow of his thoughts rather than presenting a straightforward sequence of events. That movement through inner questions and associations is characteristic of stream of consciousness. The other choices mainly describe places or imagery.

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