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Eliot once said that his poems often began in a rhythm rather than an idea (do not recall source). "Michelangelo" fits the sound needed there as other names would not: it produces a feminine rhyme with "come and go." That said, we need not establish a conscious (and always profound) intention to Eliot's words. No human being could possibly have all or a small part of the intentions attributed to him. What matters more is how the language works. In that sense the whole poem can be read as Steve does because of the fear of women and and anxiety about one woman possibly humiliating him and his awareness of lonely men and the later repeated image of drowning and sirens. I think the date of the poem makes that a bit less likely, given that Eliot was at the time having all kinds of difficulties with his own virginity and erotic uncertainties with women. But this may be part of his concerns also. Nancy Date sent: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 16:21:56 +0200 Send reply to: "T. S. Eliot Discussion forum." <[log in to unmask]> From: Sara Trevisan <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Michaelangelo To: [log in to unmask] Steve wrote: > Still, my conclusion is that TSE had homosexual desires which both > attracted and repelled him and, additionally, he was very concerned that these desires would offend God. Well, you then agree with the old saying about the Bloomsbury group -- that "they were couples, having triangular relationships, but living in squares". That's an interesting point you made, Steve. But is the whole poem to be interpreted in the light of his hidden homosexuality? About the "shall I say", Donoghue wrote that it's like a sort of confession. Nobody truly cared of where Prufrock would go at night or what he would do -- that "shall I say" is a confession that nobody asked for, and the reader gets to pity Prufrock for his situation. See you, Sara