his hair and his thin arms and legs. He longs to converse more profoundly with a woman but is afraid that he will be misunderstood. As a result of his misgivings, he has all but given up on ever being more than an attendant rather than a prince. As he walks along the beach, he hears the songs of mermaids but despairs that they will ever direct their songs towards him. Eliot creates a profoundly sad image of a man who has forsaken his dreams and goals in life.

The allusion to the story of John the Baptist appears in a stanza in which Prufrock describes the effort he has expended to try to change and grow beyond his limitations. He says "I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed."

The Book of Matthew chapter 14 in the Bible's New Testament tells the story of the death of John the Baptist. John is Jesus's cousin and a prophet of God. Because of his fearless stand against the sins of King Herod, Herod has John thrown into prison. However, he is afraid to put John to death because the common people believe that he is a prophet. On Herod's birthday, the daughter of his wife Herodias dances for him, and the dance pleases Herod so much that as a reward he offers to give her anything she asks. The dancer, prompted by her mother, asks that Herod should give her the head of John the Baptist on a charger, or platter. To fulfill his oath, Herod has John beheaded, and the head is presented to the daughter of Herodias.

The point is that John the Baptist is beheaded because of his fearless honesty. He is unwilling to retract his assertion that Herod and Herodias are living in sin, and he is killed for his courageous stand. Prufrock desires to have a similar level of honesty and courage, the honesty and courage that befit a prophet. He envisions it briefly: "I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker." Ultimately, however he realizes that "I am no prophet—and here's no great matter." In other words, he realizes that he does not have the courage to fulfill his ideals.