Prufrock also distances himself from the people at the tea, saying they talk of "Michelangelo," which seems to say he has little in common with them. A man who loves a woman will try to find things in common with her to enjoy her company. This man instead finds things that make them different.

Finally, there is an underlying gloomy theme throughout the poem that cannot point to love. Prufrock often mentions the "yellow smoke and fog" that surrounds the city, and this almost sounds like poison or death creeping through the streets. He also talks about time "to murder." This is not a love song at all - the title is ironic. Instead, this is a poem about death and the inevitability of death. The critic Walcutt seems to be taking the poem much too literally, and reading much between the lines. Instead of love, this poem looks at...
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