Happiness and Illness
"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes" (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock).
Why yellow fog and why yellow smoke? Fog is a white-ish color and smoke is gray or black, what makes these yellow? In one of my high school classes, we read the Edgar Allen Poe story "The Masque of Red Death." After reading this, We identified the different colored rooms in the story and analyzed what each color meant and what it represented. The use of colors to represent emotion is used in this quote. Yellow could mean a number of things. For example, it could mean happiness or illness. Eliot could be expressing happiness the narrator feels when he is in love. However, it could mean illness. The narrator could be explaining his "love sickness" for his lover.
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes" (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock).
Why yellow fog and why yellow smoke? Fog is a white-ish color and smoke is gray or black, what makes these yellow? In one of my high school classes, we read the Edgar Allen Poe story "The Masque of Red Death." After reading this, We identified the different colored rooms in the story and analyzed what each color meant and what it represented. The use of colors to represent emotion is used in this quote. Yellow could mean a number of things. For example, it could mean happiness or illness. Eliot could be expressing happiness the narrator feels when he is in love. However, it could mean illness. The narrator could be explaining his "love sickness" for his lover.
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Recent Comments
Kayley Dardano on Happiness and Illness: Well I think that the yellow m
Ethan Shepley on Happiness and Illness: Interesting point!
Erica Gearhart on Happiness and Illness: I was also hung up on the fact
Dennis G. Jerz on Happiness and Illness: When we realize that there is
Greta Carroll on Happiness and Illness: Kaitlin, the choice of the col
Katie Vann on Happiness and Illness: It was interesting you suggest
Angela Palumbo on Happiness and Illness: I thought that this whole poem
Angelica Guzzo on Happiness and Illness: Yes I too thought that the dif
Ethan Shepley on Happiness and Illness: Interesting point!
Erica Gearhart on Happiness and Illness: I was also hung up on the fact
Dennis G. Jerz on Happiness and Illness: When we realize that there is
Greta Carroll on Happiness and Illness: Kaitlin, the choice of the col
Katie Vann on Happiness and Illness: It was interesting you suggest
Angela Palumbo on Happiness and Illness: I thought that this whole poem
Angelica Guzzo on Happiness and Illness: Yes I too thought that the dif
Yes I too thought that the different colors were different. I agree that yellow could mean illness. There was a short story I read called the "Yellow Wallpaper". It took place in an insane asylum where there were ill people.
I thought that this whole poem was different. The yellow smoke did throw me though because he harped on it. The yellow reminded me of the different personality types, yellow bile being one of them.
It was interesting you suggested that the yellow appearance of the fog and smoke could symbolize an emotion, I didn't think of it that way. I believe it could be emotion, or it could simply be the yellow glare from street lights made the fog and smoke appear more yellow than its usual white-ish color. I'm not sure whether the author intended for the deeper meaning with the emotions or if he was just describing the actual scene of the street.
Kaitlin, the choice of the color yellow really is interesting. And I wonder why he did choose yellow. When I think of yellow I think of road signs. In this case, I think the color serves as a caution or warning, which seems like it could apply in this case. “It was a soft October night” (line 21), fall is here, time is running out. It is a warning to use what time is left responsibly.
When we realize that there is no real street for Eliot to describe -- it only exists in the world of the poem -- then Eliot's choice to describe a street with yellow fog (as opposed to a log cabin in a storm or a sandy beach during a heat wave) is significant. When any of us writes a creative work, we are God in our own universe, and we have the power to orchestrate and arrange every last detail.
Katie, is there any reason that the yellow fog can't both describe a realistic city scene and also conjure up emotion? As the Foster reading points out, in literature things rarely have just one meaning.
I was also hung up on the fact that he repeats so many ideas, the color yellow being one of them. Eliot also frequently uses the images of pins and of tea parties. I was easily able to see that yellow perhaps hinted at the various emotions Kaitlin mentioned, but I do not really understand the themes of the pins and the tea parties as well.
Interesting point!
Well I think that the yellow meant illness because fog and smoke make me think of a musty unkind yellow, not a happy sunflower dancing around. The imagery made me think of coughing, which is not exactly a happy feeling. I also agree with Professor Jerz, when he discusses how the fog being yellow relates to a city. I thought about this as well when I read this poem. along with coughing I think of old factories thick with grease.