Final answer:
A middle example of 'Modernity' in 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' is the poem's modernist depiction of love and self-perception that challenges traditional forms and themes. Prufrock's fragmented thoughts and the absence of traditional love song structure reflect a disjointed society and are hallmark traits of high modernism.
Step-by-step explanation:
A middle example of 'Modernity' in T. S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' can be seen in the poem's break from traditional love song themes. Rather than singing of unbridled passion or idealized love, Eliot's poem presents a modernist take on love by delving into the psyche of a man fraught with hesitation and self-doubt. This aligns with the high modernism traits, where the poem reflects a fractured, chaotic world through a stream of consciousness and introspective narration. It stands in contrast to a traditional love song by its lack of a clear, uplifting message on love. Also, it avoids a predictable rhyme scheme and meter, typical love poetry characteristics, opting instead for free verse and enigmatic imagery.
In the poem, Prufrock, the protagonist, grapples with his alienation and the changing modern world which he finds difficult to navigate. The fragmentation of Prufrock's thoughts reflects a society that has become disjointed, mirroring the high modernist view of a world that has irrevocably departed from the familiar structures of the past. Eliot's work comprehensively captures the essence of 'Modernity' by questioning the role of the self in a rapidly evolving society, marked by its existential concerns and disillusionment, making it a quintessential high modernist text. The use of an epigraph from Dante's Inferno to begin the poem further accentuates its modernist elements by linking it to historical and mythological contexts yet presenting them through a contemporary lens.