Poem II
Now that lilacs are in bloomShe has a bowl of lilacs in her roomAnd twists one in her fingers while she talks.“Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not knowWhat life is, you who hold it in your hands”;(Slowly twisting the lilac stalks)“You let it flow from you, you let it flow,And youth is cruel, and has no remorseAnd smiles at situations which it cannot see.”I smile, of course,And go on drinking tea.“Yet with these April sunsets, that somehow recallMy buried life, and Paris in the Spring,I feel immeasurably at peace, and find the worldTo be wonderful and youthful, after all.”
The voice returns like the insistent out-of-tuneOf a broken violin on an August afternoon:“I am always sure that you understandMy feelings, always sure that you feel,Sure that across the gulf you reach your hand.
You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles’ heel.You will go on, and when you have prevailedYou can say: at this point many a one has failed.
But what have I, but what have I, my friend,To give you, what can you receive from me?Only the friendship and the sympathyOf one about to reach her journey’s end.
I shall sit here, serving tea to friends....”
I take my hat: how can I make a cowardly amendsFor what she has said to me?You will see me any morning in the parkReading the comics and the sporting page.Particularly I remarkAn English countess goes upon the stage.A Greek was murdered at a Polish dance,Another bank defaulter has confessed.I keep my countenance,I remain self-possessedExcept when a street piano, mechanical and tiredReiterates some worn-out common songWith the smell of hyacinths across the gardenRecalling things that other people have desired.Are these ideas right or wrong?
Words in this poem
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- immeasurably adv.
- In an immeasurable manner or degree.
- insistent a.
- Standing or resting on something; as, an insistent wall. Sir H. [L. insistens, -entis, p. pr. of insistere.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- invulnerable a.
- Incapable of being wounded, or of receiving injury. [L. invulnerabilis: cf. F. invulnérable. See In- not, and Vulnerable.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- countess n.
- The wife of an earl in the British peerage, or of a count in the Continental nobility; also, a lady possessed of the same dignity in her own right. See the Note under Count. [F. comtesse. See Count a nobleman.]
- defaulter n.
- One who makes default; one who fails to appear in court when court when called.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Prufrock and Other Observations, Project Gutenberg ebook #1459; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: T. S. Eliot, Poem II, in Prufrock and Other Observations (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1459, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/eliot-prufrock/poem-ii.html, id L04653.
Form and metre
Poem II is 43 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABC-BCDEDEF--F bloomA · roomA · talksB · knowC · hands · stalksB · flowC · remorseD · seeE · courseD · teaE · recallF · spring · world · allF
- 2 AAB-B tuneA · afternoonA · understandB · feel · handB
- 3 -AA heel · prevailedA · failedA
- 4 A--A friendA · me · sympathy · endA
- 6 --ABABCDCDEF-EF amends · me · parkA · pageB · remarkA · stageB · danceC · confessedD · countenanceC · possessedD · tiredE · songF · garden · desiredE · wrongF
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Now that lilacs are in bloom | 7 | ··/···· |
| She has a bowl of lilacs in her room | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And twists one in her fingers while she talks. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| “Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know | 11 | ··········· |
| What life is, you who hold it in your hands”; | 10 | ·········· |
| (Slowly twisting the lilac stalks) | 8 | /˘/˘·/·· |
| “You let it flow from you, you let it flow, | 10 | ·········· |
| And youth is cruel, and has no remorse | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And smiles at situations which it cannot see.” | 12 | ····˘/˘··/˘· |
| I smile, of course, | 4 | ···· |
| And go on drinking tea. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| “Yet with these April sunsets, that somehow recall | 12 | ···/˘/··/·˘/ |
| My buried life, and Paris in the Spring, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I feel immeasurably at peace, and find the world | 13 | ··˘/˘·˘······ |
| To be wonderful and youthful, after all.” | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| The voice returns like the insistent out-of-tune | 12 | ··˘/··˘/˘··· |
| Of a broken violin on an August afternoon: | 13 | ··/˘˘/··/˘·˘/ |
| “I am always sure that you understand | 10 | ··/·····˘/ |
| My feelings, always sure that you feel, | 9 | ·/˘/····· |
| Sure that across the gulf you reach your hand. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles’ heel. | 12 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| You will go on, and when you have prevailed | 10 | ········˘/ |
| You can say: at this point many a one has failed. | 11 | ······/···· |
| But what have I, but what have I, my friend, | 10 | ·········· |
| To give you, what can you receive from me? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Only the friendship and the sympathy | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of one about to reach her journey’s end. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I shall sit here, serving tea to friends....” | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| I take my hat: how can I make a cowardly amends | 13 | ·········/˘˘/ |
| For what she has said to me? | 7 | ······· |
| You will see me any morning in the park | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| Reading the comics and the sporting page. | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Particularly I remark | 8 | ˘/˘˘˘·˘/ |
| An English countess goes upon the stage. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| A Greek was murdered at a Polish dance, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Another bank defaulter has confessed. | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| I keep my countenance, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| I remain self-possessed | 6 | ·˘/·˘/ |
| Except when a street piano, mechanical and tired | 13 | ·····˘/˘˘/˘·/ |
| Reiterates some worn-out common song | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| With the smell of hyacinths across the garden | 11 | ····/˘˘/·/˘ |
| Recalling things that other people have desired. | 12 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Are these ideas right or wrong? | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.