Well-Educated Mind Poetry Reading List discussion

I still do not know who J. Alfred Prufrock is or was, but from this poem he is an emotionally awkward individual who cannot relate to other people, particularly women, or reality. He seems to not fit into the modern world. He is aware of his physical flaws. I think this eats away at his confidence.

Nonetheless, he wants to compare himself to literary heroes, like Hamlet. But he is clueless or spineless and does not know how to approach people/women. The best he can do is envision or imagine or fantasize about those relationships, as if women were mermaids.

And then reality wakes him from his dream. It's kind of a waste.