Like many of T.S. Eliot's other works, this poem is pretty difficult to comprehend. There are deep meanings within the poem that are not easily understood from just one reading. It takes multiple readings to really understand what he is saying.
The poem comes from the mind of Prufrock as if he is talking to someone else. The audience is not sure who he is talking to though. The first stanza talks about a bad part of town with "half-deserted streets", "one-night cheap hotels", and restaurants with "sawdust". All of these clue the audience into the fact that Prufrock probably doesn't come from the nicest part of town. He isn't high class.
As the poem continues the audience learns that he is going to some sort of dinner party or social function. He describes the women who will be there by saying "In the room the woman come and go talking of Michelangelo." He repeats this several times so it must be important. He is saying that the women at the function are pretty high class.
A few stanza's down Prufrock says "There will be time, there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you will meet." Prufrock means that he will need to put on an alter ego or put up a front in order to attend the party. His current attitude and actions will not be sufficient at the party. They will know that he is not "one of them".
We learn that Prufrock is conscious of his appearance as the poem continues. He says "With a bald spot in the middle of my hair" and "They will say: But how his arms and legs are thin." This shows some of Prufrock's imperfections and also shows how he is worried about how he looks. He knows that if they study him too long they will figure out that he isn't what he seems. "For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."
Prufrock has a hard time coming to terms with himself. On top of not liking his appearance he the kind of person who keeps to himself, not that that's bad. He says "I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of the silent sea." This gives the picture of some little sea creature who lives far away at the bottom of the sea alone. Maybe Prufrock is depressed as well. He says "I am not Price Hamlet, nor was meant to be." I take this to mean that he isn't really concerned about being the one in charge. He is fine to be in the background. This goes right along with wanting to be on the bottom of the ocean.
During the rest of the poem he contemplates going and talking to a girl at the function that he likes. He decides not to however. He doesn't want to have to put on a disguise just to talk to her. He wants someone to love him for who he really is. He seems to be scared of rejection.
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