Short Note on Lazarus

Prufrock, the protagonist in the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock makes a reference to the story of Lazarus in the Bible. Actually two Lazaruses are mentioned in the Bible. One was the brother of Mary and Martha, whom Christ brought back to life from death because of their imploration (John XI, 1-44). The parable of the other Lazarus is narrated in Luke XVI, 19-31. Lazarus was a beggar at the gate of the rich man Dives. When they died, Lazarus went to heaven, Dives to hell. Dives implored Abraham to send back Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them of the torment of hell : ‘if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent’. But Abraham refused ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead’. For Prufrock, to tell all would be to reveal what a living, suffering death is like. But the identity with Lazarus is brushed aside as he realises the futility of his endeavour.