References to the image of “oyster shells” tell the reader about his repressed self. Prufrock compares himself to some of Shakespeare's characters, two of which are Hamlet and a servant. The reference that Prufrock makes to Hamlet is a reference that he describes with negation. He says: “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor should I have been” (line 111). Prufrock says he is not Hamlet because he doesn't have the self-confidence to be the main character in a play. Prufrock refers to that of Shakespeare's lord servant. The gentleman on duty is a character in the play who is of no importance, and is only there to provide enough time for the play's main characters to change and prepare between scenes. In lines 114-116 Prufrock describes the lord servant as “an easy, deferential, political, cautious, meticulous instrument.” Of these images depicted in describing the servant lord and Prufrock himself, they all define a negative sense of self-