Poetry Slam!: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a poem about, among many other things, being forever on the outside looking in, about knowing that the person you'd have to be to fit in wouldn't be you, but regretting and lamenting your loneliness just the same.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. deserted
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
  2. restless
    lacking physical or mental ease
    Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
  3. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    Streets that follow like a tedious argument
  4. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    Of insidious intent
  5. linger
    remain present although waning or gradually dying
    Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
  6. descend
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    Time to turn back and descend the stair,
  7. modest
    marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
    My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
  8. assert
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
    My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
  9. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
    Disturb the universe?
  10. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
    So how should I presume?
  11. digress
    wander from a direct or straight course
    That makes me so digress?
  12. malinger
    avoid responsibilities and duties, often by faking illness
    Asleep… tired… or it malingers,
  13. prophet
    someone who speaks by divine inspiration
    I am no prophet—and here's no great matter;
  14. eternal
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
  15. porcelain
    ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic
    Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
  16. deferential
    showing courteous regard for people's feelings
    Deferential, glad to be of use,
  17. politic
    marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness
    Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
  18. cautious
    showing careful forethought
    Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
  19. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
  20. obtuse
    lacking in insight or discernment
    Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
Created on Fri Jan 27 12:04:53 EST 2012 (updated Fri Jun 23 10:29:50 EDT 2023)

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