J Alfred Prufrock, perhaps Eliot's most famous character, is often referred to as 'the archetypal modern
anti-hero'. But
what is it that defines him as anti-
hero rather than hero? What does Eliot mean by
heroism, and how is this evidenced in his early poetry? The paper discusses Eliot's treatment of heroes throughout the course of "Prufrock and Other Observations" and "Poems" of 1920, with particular reference to the way in which he sets his characters against a background of traditional heroism by the use of intertextuality.