Prufrock has led a pretty unfulfilling life, to say the least. He wants to lead a heroic life, but in reality, he's much too nervous, shy, and neurotic to do so. Each time he ventures out into society, he is reminded of his many shortcomings as an individual.
Far from leading an exciting, rich, fulfilling life, Prufrock is forced to acknowledge the uncomfortable fact that so much of his existence has been frittered away in pointless social gatherings at which, one presumes, coffee was invariably served. Hence the reference to measuring out his life with coffee spoons.
The measure of Prufrock's life has not been heroic deeds or passionate love affairs but by an endless round of painful encounters with members of the opposite sex in respectable social gatherings. Looking back upon the life that he's lived, Prufrock can only lament how it's all turned out.
This is not a heroic age, and Prufrock is certainly no hero. He is marking time and nothing more, and he can only do by the countless coffee spoons he's used in an ultimately forlorn attempt to make his mark upon a world that he neither likes nor understands—and which is a constant source of fear and disappointment.
Further Reading
Prufrock is a timid, disillusioned middle-aged man. He wanted at some point in his life to create a great work of literature, and so he joined literary circles in London. Now, contemplating his life and lack of accomplishments, he realizes he frittered away his time at parties, drinking coffee and exchanging the same worn-out comments with people rather than setting himself to the harder task of writing literature.
The line "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons" means that Prufrock has spent the bulk of his time on what is small and inconsequential, such as drinking coffee. This is a visual and auditory image (we can hear the sound of the spoon stirring the coffee) that shows the repetition of a mundane social activity, one that contrasts sharply to writing a great work or to the lyrical mermaids from Greek poetry that Prufrock dreams of.
The line speaks to the frustration most people feel when they have to spend time on obligatory tasks when they would prefer to be doing something more meaningful. In Prufrock's case, however, he has embraced the trivial as a way to avoid facing the great task. Ironically, for all his complaining about being at yet another boring party, he has freely gone to yet another boring party. He has made his decisions, bit by bit, or coffee spoon by coffee spoon, and now he feels regret—but not enough to overcome his inertia.
The speaker of T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock " is a disillusioned and discontented middle aged man who is reckoning with his own anxiety, alienation, and indecision. When Prufrock says, in the poem's seventh stanza, "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons," what he means is that...
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his life has always been carefully controlled and predictable—in other words, measured.
The image of the coffee spoon is one of middle-class domesticity. The idea of measuring one's life with such an instrument implies a lack of risk or excitement; instead of big decisions or milestone events defining the course of his life, all Prufrock has with which to mark his time on earth is the quotidian coffee spoon. The reader can easily imagine Prufrock going through the motions of a daily routine of making a cup of morning coffee.
The line also serves as an indicator of Prufrock's age. That he is looking back on his life and making this kind of observation makes it clear to the reader that he is no longer a young man.
In T. S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrok" the following line appears:
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
What Eliot, and the speaker, is saying that in life he has been very careful with decisions in life. When measuring coffee to brew one must be sure to use the exact amount, and no more, to create the drink. Like measuring coffee out, the speaker is saying that he has been very careful to not take too little or too much out of life. He has simply taken all he has needed to survive.
What this means is that sometimes people are so careful as to examine their life that they are so careful that they measure out specific aspects of life. The speaker seems to be stating that his carefulness has, unfortunately, left him feeling doubtful, alienated, and as if time has passed without recognition or concern. The look back on his life suggests that Prufrok regrets taking such measured actions--instead wishing that he would have thrown the spoon to the wind and done more.
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." What is the author saying about the way that Prufrock has lived and is living his life?
This statement evokes careful precision: Prufrock rations his life in slight doses, not allowing himself joy or excesses. It speaks to monotonous repetition, particularly in the context of the preceding lines:
For I have known them all already, known
them all:—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons
Prufrock speaks both of constants—his life is allotted by coffee spoons—and of uncertainties: the “decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” One comes to understand that, for Prufrock, uncertainty is itself a constant.
There is an element of forethought, as well: "I have measured out my life" is ambiguous time-wise. Prufrock might be saying that he has already measured out his life in the past, but also that he has allotted even the future portions of his life—in other words, that he does not intend to change his habits.
Furthermore, coffee spoons symbolize the social rituals that Prufrock so dislikes: the “taking of a toast and tea” that obstructs any real conversation. Topics are bite-size and confined to suitable topics, not of the sort that Prufrock would prefer. He is a man who wanders narrow streets at dusk and sees a reflection of himself in the “lonely men in shirt-sleeves” who smoke pipes and lean out of windows—Prufrock must tire of the restraint, yet he too restricts himself.
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." What is the author saying about the way that Prufrock has lived and is living his life?
I believe that the reference to coffee spoons means that Prufrock is living his life in carefully measured doses. He is not a man prone to extremes or one who would do anything out of the ordinary or unexpected; spontaniety is not his way of life.
Yes, coffee spoons can refer to the fact that he uses coffee spoons at all of the teas he has been to, but moreso it creates an image of one who is precise and exact--Prufrock would never just dump the sugar into his tea! Each and every decision he makes is carefully weighed and measured.
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." What is the author saying about the way that Prufrock has lived and is living his life?
The author is referring to the normal occurance of coffee or tea during social situations during the time period. When Prufrock says he has measured his life in coffee spoons, he is alluding that he has spent a lot of time participating in social coffee or tea. If his life can be measured in coffee spoons, then he has done little else to provide a unit of measure; he has spent much of his time simply being social. It is insinuated that he had little to contribute to these occasions. The image of a spoon makes a dull and not very enticing picture of how one's life has been spent.
Further Reading
In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", what is the meaning of the quote "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons"?
You might find it helpful, when considering this question, to ask yourself the following question: Does a life that is measured out by "coffee spoons" seem to be a life that has been exciting and heroic or boring? Think of all the things that we could use to measure our lives: our achievements, places we have gone to, things we have done, people we have known, legacies we have left behind us. J. Alfred Prufrock, however, can only look upon his life as a life that has been characterised by innaction, passivity and meaningless interactions that have not amounted to anything. Note the context of the quote you have given:
For I have known them all already, known them all--
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?
Note the world-weary and bored tone of the speaker in this stanza. His life seems to have been marked by nothing more exciting than a series of meaningless interactions with others over coffee or tea. A life that can only be measured out by coffee spoons suggests a life of a cautious, fearful person, a life of someone who is afraid of adventure, excitement, danger and risk. This is of course an excellent description of the life of J. Alfred Prufrock with his narcissistic, self-absorbed fears that dominate so much of the poem.
Which does the poet imply in the line, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?
This line emphasizes the triviality at the heart of Prufrock's life. Try as he might, Prufrock cannot find any real meaning in the social world, a world in which women "come and go, talking of Michelangelo," and in which he feels so singularly awkward and ill at ease. Yet somehow he still needs to infuse his mind-numbing, workaday existence with some kind of significance, no matter how trivial.
Enter coffee spoons. Prufrock cannot measure out his life with notable achievements or successes, for the simple reason that he doesn't have any. But he does have coffee spoons. These humble everyday objects provide him with a sense of certainty and stability in a world of hustle and bustle, a world in which, as we've already seen, Prufrock doesn't feel as if he belongs. Like coffee spoons, Prufrock has become something of an unimportant, everyday object, both to himself and others.
Further Reading
In "The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock" by Eliot, what is meant by "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons"?
"The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot features a persona who is addressing a potential lover. The persona typifies a modern man who is overeducated and has conformed to certain social standards throughout his life. The reference to the tea and the coffee spoons illustrates his frustration with the social norms of his society and the strict social rules.
The persona seems to want to consummate his relationship with the unnamed woman, but he is awkward and doesn't have the self-esteem to get through to her as shown by the rest of the quatrain:
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?