Throughout his poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” T. S. Eliot uses various literary figures in well-known texts as the character J. Alfred Prufrock experiences anxiety and self-doubt. Allusions and direct references to works and authors Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Andrew Marvell, and the Bible are used to compare and contrast Prufrock’s insecurities and inaction. While this poem revolves around Prufrock asking a woman a question, which he never actually gets to, T. S. Eliot structures the poem almost as a quest for Prufrock to express his intentions, and thus, uses appeals to literature to illuminate how one should be active rather than passive. Published in 1915, this poem displays modernist literary techniques, especially as Prufrock’s inner monologue showcases self-consciousness. Further, Eliot’s use of allusions and direct references seem to question society’s progress; however, he also seems to suggest that looking at the past helps to understand individuals and society as a whole. In his essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” Eliot states, “No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists” (37). Therefore, Eliot uses literary allusions within “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to showcase Prufrock’s limitations, which suggests an overarching message that humanity needs to be active in this era of advancement, as urbanization has led Prufrock, as well as society, to a sense of worthlessness. Eliot bases the structure of the poem around Dante’s The Divine Comedy in order to set up a journey for Prufrock in his own personal Hell, as well as to show a contrast between inaction and passivity. The first literary reference is within the poem’s epigraph, which is a direct quote from Dante’s Inferno, which states,