Differences And Similarities Between Walt Whitman And Ginsberg

When I hear Ginsberg read “Howl,” I feel the warmth of an understanding that slips in through the back door of every generation. Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg are brothers in the family that is America. Time, does not follow a path or course, with these two poets. Being so similar, the years that push them apart, are sewn together with the seamed stitching of art.

Whitman wrote broad stanzas and focused on the whole of America as his inspiration. His lines covered a wide range of topics and generated multiple points of view for the reader. He called his life’s work “Leaves of Grass”; stressing the

With the little similarities they had, they also had differences. The poets wrote from each

Because of this, Ginsberg witnessed his mother’s insanity first hand while growing up causing it to have a major impact on his own views. Ginsberg also developed a certain sense of connection with people dealing with such issues and was able to tolerate it at such a level. In his adolescent years, Ginsberg greatly favored Walt Whitman. Because Ginsberg wanted to live out a childhood dream of getting in Columbia University like his childhood idol, Whitman, he made it a personal goal

Through a careful interpretation of A Defense of Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Democratic Vistas by Walt Whitman, one can gain a holistic sense of poetry, what it is and what it does, that can be applied to literary texts of all times. One can better understand Allen Ginsberg's "America" through an examination of the aforementioned texts as well. The literary merit of the poem is best recognized through Walt Whitman's Democratic Vistas, although Percy Bysshe Shelley's A Defense of Poetry also contributes some very critical parallels to the poem and its characteristics.

Upon further analyzation of both Ginsberg and Whitman’s works, the conclusion can be made that Whitman must have been of utmost importance to Ginsberg, thus, creating the format of Ginsberg’s writing as seen in A Supermarket in California and his many other

Ginsberg reflects on the satire of people worshipping American culture when it is actually the cause of their trouble. Which glorifies a civilization restricting you to normality, and destroying the best minds. These parts take the reader behind Ginsberg’s belief of the “best minds” American culture changes across the fundamental desires to destroy them.

Century apart, Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman share similar cultural, political and moral values, which they express in their literary work. Whitman’s writing is considered controversial for the eighteen hundreds. He sets the stage for generations to come breaking way from the strict Victorian poetic tradition by writing in free verse. Ginsberg follows his footsteps when composing his poem “Howl” by writing in long lines almost resembling prose and subdividing the poem into several parts. Likewise, he uses numerous repetitions to achieve rhythmicity of his verse. Ginsberg’s poem is heavily influenced by Whitman’s philosophy. The works “Song of myself” and “Howl” are similar in ideas, structure and underling themes. The two authors protest against old traditions imposed on the individual by corrupt society, stand against conformity and put emphasis on the need for change. They identify with their generation and dwell on themes such as sexuality, religion and the state of American society.

This poem is sometimes referred to as a violent “howl” of human anguish. It attacks the forces of conformity and mechanization that Ginsberg believed destroyed the best minds of his generation. This poem has no real structure or rational connection of ideas, and the rules of grammar are abandoned in order to pack imagery into one line. The poem points the way toward a new and better existence, chronicling the pilgrimage of the “mad generation” toward a reality that is timeless and placeless, holy and eternal.

Ginsberg expresses a light-hearted distaste of the supermarket lifestyle in his poem, "A Supermarket in California." He envisions himself wandering around the supermarket, surrounded by consumers eyeing produce, and, among them, Walt Whitman and Garcia Lorca. He seems to be fascinated and repulsed at the same time by the phenomenon, everyone looking and poking at the items to be bought, and he wonders what their real motives in being there are. He imagines Whitman to be there out of loneliness, flirting with the young stockboys, pretending, like everyone else, to be interested in the products. Ginsberg's vision of America is of a whole population so lonely and dispassionate that they have turned to these big bright places full of people and things to look at just to have something to do. It is notable that Ginsberg and Whitman leave the supermarket together, not having purchased anything at all. They have taken part in the ritual of loneliness without buying into the need for things.

On this verse, we can see how Whitman tries to connect to mind, body, spirit and nature. In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempted to change the meaning of American poetry. I described identity issues that pertain to him, but that the audience was able to identify with. Whitman, opened the door to

There are many similarities between Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and Ginsberg’s “Howl”. Whitman’s influence can be noticed in Ginsberg’s work which range from a similar style of format, structure, a concern with the general population of America, and the impact that these two great writers had on the rest of the literary world. Another significant influence that Whitman has for Ginsberg is the fact that Whitman had been considered an outcast from the literary world of his era. Whitman appeared as a plainly dressed working man rather than a fancy high societal poet. His long winded style, free verse, and sexual exposure made Whitman stand out from the rest of the other poets. Ginsberg was also not accepted among the poets of his generation. His literary works were banned from the public’s eye. Another similarity was between the two was their subject matter. In the introduction of leaves of grass, Malcolm Cowley said, “Its subject is a state of illumination induced by two (or three) separate moments of ecstasy”.

The nineteenth century produced many esteemed authors, including Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman who became two of Americas most popular poets. While vastly different in style and personality, both Dickinson and Whitman relate to many people on an emotional level through their poetry, even in the twenty-first century. The works of poetry by Dickinson and Whitman can be compared on levels of style and form and both writers composed beautiful verses of high quality. Through the following comparisons, it will become apparent how Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman influenced American literature and culture both in similar and diverse ways.

Throughout time there have been many writers and poets. And with these many writers and poets their work has been different in what they write about. And their work has made an impact on society and on others. And yet in this time some writers have influenced the work of others. Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg who are separated by a time gap have a kind of connection. Both of these amazing writers wrote pieces of work that are considered a catalyst for the Beat Generation. These two courageous writers went against the norm and wrote about something different. Although they are different they both explored new topics.

In 1855, when Whitman’s “Song of Myself” was first printed, baseball was still very new. It was clearly one of the distinctive elements of the American experience that Whitman found worth absorbing into the song of himself, even though the term “baseball” had not yet made its way into the dictionaries. At various times over the years, Whitman would extol many other sports, but there was only one sport he would return to throughout his life, and that was baseball. To him, baseball was an activity with its own built-in localized slang, and its own essential connections to American culture; a game conceived, developed, and originally played only in the United States of America. Clearly for Whitman, baseball was the sport that coincided with the best aspects of the American character. In it he saw the emergence of national sport--one that had a rhythm and movement distinctly American. In this game, he saw the possibilities for democratic crowds and brotherhood that he would celebrate in his poetry (Folsom 30-53).