This poems appears to mention time throughout the majority of it. He seems to think that there is an abundance of time to participate in social events as he likes to describe. However he only seems to think about the present as the simplest decisions give him such anxiety and present themselves as dilemmas. Elliot alludes to Hamlet to put in perspective how indecisive Prufrock really is. Hamlet was attempting to decide whether or not to murder his step-father, among other serious contemplations, whereas Prufrock didn't know whether or not to eat a peach or simply where to part his hair for example, but they were all complex situations to him that required much reflection. When he alludes to his when his greatness flickered, he is explaining that when he was a part of social gatherings hosted by the wealthy class and saw how the footman (servant/butler) would snicker when giving him his coat. He mentions this "eternal Footman" to reiterate the theme of time and that life is what you make it as well as reminisce on the past. After reading the poem once, the image that remained in my mind was the one Eliot painted of the yellow smoke. It appeared to swallow everything in its path in a worn down neighborhood at night through the manner it was described. It was a bit odd to me as the rest of the poem chronicles superfluous events and although his life seems to be barely adequate, he never describes creepy settings again. This shows that as time goes on, so does life and that nothing lasts forever if you are determined enough to alter your existing situation.
A translation of the Italian at the poem's inception:
If I believed that my reply was
A person who never returned to the world ,
This flame staria no longer shock .
But because of this never end
I do not return alive any , s'i'odo true ,
Without fear of infamy I answer .
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