Blythe and Sweet--Song and Song
Blythe and Sweet conclude, “The parallel between the two poems, then, seems so close that, rather than simply an allusion used for contrast, Donne’s seventeenth-century “Song” may be a source of Eliot’s twentieth-century “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Both poems show allusions and reference to other works.
“Donne’s use of the mermaid image to suggest the danger women pose to men most probably alludes to The Odyssey…..” (Blythe and Sweet).
“….So he leaves the party to walk alone on the beach—for Prufrock, too, the mermaids’ singing is impossible” (Blythe and Sweet).
Each allusion and symbol that is mentioned in both poems either is similar or different. For example, the mermaids in both poems represent a nuisance and danger. Donne’s poem is claimed to be a source for Eliot’s poem, which would explain the similar objects and symbols.
In the paragraph that begins with “A remarkable likeness in the method of narration employed by Donne and Eliot undergirds the similarity in situation and theme in the two poems,” Blythe and Sweet state their topic then quote each poem to support their claim. Blythe and Sweet opinionate their claims yet have enough evidence to support it. This makes it perusable and debatable because there is an opposition.