Question

Which lines from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" provide an example of stream of consciousness?
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

Answer 1

The best examples in that excerpt are:

- "Time for you and time for me, / And time yet for a hundred indecisions, / And for a hundred visions and revisions," — the piling up of phrases, repetition and associative listing mimics the speaker’s wandering inner thought.

- "I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, / And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / And in short, I was afraid." — an interior confession that shifts quickly from grand image to personal fear, showing inward reflection.

- "Streets that follow like a tedious argument / Of insidious intent / To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . / Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'" — the trailing ellipsis, sudden self-correction and rhetorical question reproduce the halting, associative quality of thought.

These lines use repetition, sudden image shifts, ellipsis and rhetorical interruption — hallmarks of stream of consciousness.