World War I was a darker time for Europe because there were many conflicting feelings involving the destruction and rebuilding of many old and new countries alike. Fear, death, and the loss of loved ones hung in the air, making this dark time confusing, especially for those surrounding the collapsing German economy. Although America prospered from the sales and success of World War I, Europe was troubled and devastated by the war. This is what prompted T. S. Eliot, a Harvard-educated poet, to write three poems titled: The Hollow Men, Portrait of a Woman, and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Although written in the same period, the author captured feelings across different positions and social climates to highlight the feelings fluctuating in European countries. Throughout his three poems Eliot uses his characters and imagery to capture the brokenness and lack of identity that surrounded this time period. In TS Eliot's poem, The Portrait of a Lady, he gives a glimpse into the upper class of post-war society, something quite despondent. and desperate. It is full of people of higher social class and they are soulless and empty like the lady in the poem. The upper class was also represented by the main character himself, who is not really able to connect with his surroundings. He initially describes the world in the poem as dark, covered in smoke and mist – the scene itself a mere half of life, the individuality of the characters already swallowed up by the abyss of meaningless ritual. The truly shocking part that connects this poem to the author's previous poems is the underlying brokenness and soullessness that the characters seem to inhabit. The main character of t...... middle of paper ......rno. That particular part of Dante's Inferno is the memory of a man who kept this secret that he wanted to say and when he told Dante the secret was revealed and it embarrassed him greatly. This turns the tables to realize that Prufrock might be about this man's story. He has all these great stories to tell, but he keeps them secret for fear of retaliation and judgment. This speaks volumes about Prufrock's inability to distinguish what he should say from what he wants to say, so instead he says nothing. The absence of a complete identity and the inability to be whole is what creates a line between The Love song of J Alfred Prufrock with Eliot's other poems The Hollow Men and Portrait of a Lady. These poems work together using imagery and characters to highlight the darkness that was oppressing most people after the end of World War I..