ELİOT’UN PRUFROCK’U: KÜÇÜK (BYRONİK OLMAYAN) (ANTİ)KAHRAMAN

This article establishes a parallel between the character of Manfred and that of Prufrock by drawing upon a select number of broad and generalized characteristics which are considered typical for the Byronic hero. The analysis focuses on a series of segments from Eliot's poem which reveal how Prufrock not only reverberates certain aspects of Manfred’s character, but also how he problematizes the Byronic Hero. The article advances the hypothesis that Prufrock never manages to become a true Byronic hero, such as Manfred (despite being driven by such an aspiration), due to the fact that he epitomizes a completely different character type, that of the little man in literature. By highlighting a number of inconsistencies between him and the gloried figures towards whom he aspires, the analysis reveals a radical discrepancy between the reality of Eliot’s protagonist and his ambitions. This work highlights the existence of an internal conflict within Prufrock, who is divided into two conflicting sides. The proposition made by this article is that one side of Prufrock functions as something of an echo of the Byronic Manfred, while the other remains directly linked to the modernist reality of the little modernist man.