Recognizing the Triviality of Youth in the Structure of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "Call Me By Your Name"

Refreshingly, Eliot's work "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and Luca Guadagnino's film "Call Me By Your Name" maintain the same traces of insignificant young musings, seen through the way that time is represented through the works. The elements in both works are able to slow time through different methods in order to remark on the superficiality of young infatuation. By manipulating the way that time is viewed in the two pieces, the works are able to demonstrate the trivial pursuit of young love in comparison to time's power over all earthly desires.  

Eliot manipulates time in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" through the use of structure in order to reflect on the power of time to overtake any minor musings found important in youth. One example of the influence that structure has on the piece can be seen in the separated couplets for the statement "In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo" (14). This phase is repeated twice in the beginning stanzas of the piece. The creation of a separate stanza for this phrase, as well as its disconnection to the piece as a whole, slows down the speed of the work as the two line break varies in comparison to the twelve line stanzas that precede it. This shifts the way the beginning of the poem is read, as the innate beat is slowed down. Rather than maintain a steady structure for the stanzas, Eliot makes the reader digest the poem slower by focusing on two lines of text at a time in order to slow down the pace of the work as a whole. By doing this, the couplets seem to be an older or external voice commenting on the tumultuous desires of a younger self. In addition, they lack the same questioning tone that the longer stanzas maintain through their constant doubt, stating "[d]o I dare [d]isturb the universe" and "[s]o how should I presume" (15). By alleviating the same tone within the couplets, they seem to be from a different period in time. This same structure is repeated later in the work, as the voice of the poem states " I grow old...I grow old... I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled" (18). This reoccurrence of the two line structure seen in the earlier parts of the poem remarks on the same use of these stanzas in order to manipulate time to the reader by integrating an older voice into the series of younger musings.

Luca Guadagnino similarly reveals the foolishness of youth throughout his film "Call Me By Name" by combining the turbulent and youthful character of Elio with tedious scenes of daily life in Italy. The way Guadagnino created the film is through a series of long scenes, all involving different mundane acts that Elio partakes in during the summer. Clips of the young boy swimming, biking, or laying in the sun dominate the entirety of the movie, making the watcher feel as if his summer will continue into eternity. The time in the film seems to move slower, as the simple plot lends itself to long scenes in which the director can express the never ending influence that a hot summer can have on a young boy. This aspect of the film is combine with Elio's constant impatience, as his infatuation with a new love, Oliver, becomes his main worry. By combining the normal leisurely activities of summer with Elio's constant worry over Oliver, his musings become seem secondary as the long scenes of him swimming and laying in the sun seem to overtake any true desire he may have for Oliver. In addition, these activities epitomize Elio's young age, making it difficult for the viewer to visualize depth in his actions. Eventually, Elio and Oliver's love affair comes to an end, and Elio comes to the reality that Oliver must go home for the winter. As the seasons change, the long scenes during the summer shift quickly to a winter scene of Elio in front of a fire, crying over Oliver. This shift in season represents an end to the summer, proving time's ability to end the musings of the young. By contrasting the inner turmoil of Elio with the long scenes of mundane summer activities, Elio's infatuation seems to be another pastime rather than a love of substance, similar to the way that the structure of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" reflects the triviality of youth.