For example, in "The Last Duchess", the speaker is a Duke who is clearly not Tennyson, he is specifically in his house showing a paining of his last wife before negotiating a marriage to a new wife. The storyline takes place very realistically, as if we (the readers) are somehow eavesdropping on the Duke at that moment in his life. .

             In contrast, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" has a speaker who is not necessarily revealed (aside from the title). In other dramatic monologues the speaker holds an important social position. Here, J. Alfred Prufrock does not represent an important figure. Prufrock states himself that "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be" (111). This oversteps the boundaries created by other poems. The tone of the speaker also covertly defies the tone of other dramatic monologue. In "The Last Duchess", the Duke says "Nay, we"ll go down together." (53) in a very forward way. In "Prufrock", the speaker repeatedly questions "So how should I presume.And how should I begin?" (54,69) in an indecisive way. While the tradition shows a forward and confident speaker, Prufrock is anything but confident. .

             Similarly, the situation in "Prufrock" is not specific. Although the first stanza suggests a specific occasion, later on Eliot jumps back and forth through different streams of consciousness. The poem starts with "a soft October night" (21) and ends in the "chambers of the sea" (129). The story does not follow the realistic progress of an event. Instead, Prufrock refers to "the women .talking of Michaelangelo" (13-14) a number of times throughout the poem. Along with this reference, there are a number of repeated references, including the faltering questions he asks throughout the poem. The "non-linearity" of the poem rejects the traditional guidelines of the dramatic monologue. Instead of some critical moment the speaker generally speaks of what comes to mind.