For I have known then all already, known them all : Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room.

The Weight of Knowing

The opening line, “For I have known then all already, known them all,” establishes a tone of weary resignation. This isn’t the confident assertion of a well-lived life, but a declaration of exhaustive familiarity with the trivial and the mundane. The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s sense of being trapped within a predictable existence, devoid of novelty or excitement. The “all” is deliberately vague, suggesting a comprehensive yet ultimately meaningless accumulation of experiences.

Temporal Stagnation and Routine

The subsequent lines – “Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons” – further reinforce this sense of monotony. The listing of time periods without any specific events attached highlights the speaker’s passive observation of time’s passage. This is powerfully illustrated by the line, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” This striking metaphor suggests a life reduced to small, insignificant increments, a life quantified not by meaningful events but by the ritualistic consumption of coffee. The coffee spoon becomes a symbol of the speaker’s fragmented and ultimately unfulfilling existence.

The Fading of Experience

The imagery of sound – “I know the voices dying with a dying fall / Beneath the music from a farther room” – contributes to the overall atmosphere of decay and isolation. The “dying fall” of voices suggests a loss of connection and vitality. The music from a “farther room” represents a world of possibility and engagement that remains inaccessible to the speaker. He is an observer, separated from the vibrancy of life, listening to sounds that are already fading. This spatial separation mirrors his emotional detachment.

Analysis of Diction

Eliot’s use of diction is crucial to understanding the poem’s mood. Words like “known,” “dying,” and “farther” carry a weight of melancholy and resignation. The repetition of “known” creates a sense of claustrophobia, as if the speaker is suffocating under the burden of his own awareness. The use of the past tense (“have known”) suggests that these experiences are already distant and irretrievable, further emphasizing the speaker’s sense of loss.

Psychological State of Prufrock

The excerpt reveals a speaker deeply afflicted by self-consciousness and indecision. He is acutely aware of his own limitations and fears, and this awareness prevents him from fully engaging with the world around him. The “knowing” is not empowering; it is paralyzing. He is trapped in a cycle of observation and regret, unable to break free from the constraints of his own mind. The passage foreshadows Prufrock’s ultimate inability to act, his failure to ask the “overwhelming question.”