Ginsberg Howl And Other Poetry Analysis

Similar to Marx, Ginsberg is against the idea of a small fraction of the people having significant control and power. Even though the poem is harsh on America, the goal of the author is not to shun or shame the country but try to better it. He is an extremely critical patriot trying to correct America’s flaws.

” Williams’ theory therefore suggests that the terms must necessarily co-exist in order to define each other. The “pervasiveness of consent ” therefore characterises the fifties, against which these Beat texts can be contrasted. Theodore Roszak’s 1969 article ‘The Making of a Counterculture,’ helps define beat ideology as “heightened self-expression and often a rejection of political and authoritative institutions… a negative spirit of the times coupled with a specific lifestyle .” Both On the Road and Howl and their author’s lifestyles of their writers reflect this criterion, in idiomatic and contextual terms, lending to the notion that they are, by the overall nature of their existence, countercultural texts. Roszak’s adolescent counterculture often seems the embodiment of Dean and Sal’s ‘beatitude’ in On the Road “when they pulse to music…value what is raunchy… flare against authority, seek new experience, ” but it is similarly descriptive of the naked, sometime vulgar language Ginsberg employs in Howl “who bit detectives in the neck… let themselves be fucked in the ass.” (13) The Beats admire the vibrancy naturally present among youth, and although this is a style for which their writing has been criticised, it is a move away from the traditionally

His poem the “Howl” revolves around the time period of the 1960’s and is broken into three parts. The speaker starts by explaining who the “best minds” are of his generation and how they’re being destroyed. As for Ginsberg being a hippie, his beliefs of society were different from others. He states, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix…” (line 1). Ginsburg states that the best minds of his generation are slowly getting picked off by madness and he even hints toward the government and even a Buddhist God.

Poet Allen Ginsberg composed "Howl" in 1955 and it was published by City Lights Books of San Francisco, CA the following year. He composed the poem in the middle of the 1950s, one of the greatest decades in history for mainstream America. It had been a decade since the American and Allied victory in the second world war. Numerous American men returned home to a country in much better shape than expected, with many women having entered the workforce to keep the economy and industry alive in their absence. The spoils of war were great and America saw a great era of prosperity and domestic, suburban bliss. More interstate highways were constructed. Many more cars were produced and bought. It was a classic era for mainstream American culture in the 1950s. Yet in the haze of the suburbs, expansion of television, growth of Hollywood, and cars, present here were the seeds of rebellion and counterculture that was more indicative of the following decade, 1960s. One such seed is the poem

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.

Therefore, in the very beginning, Ginsberg presents to the reader the subject and tone of the poem in the context of this question. Ginsberg’s questions make the audience realize the seriousness of the issues that this poem discusess, such as America, politics, war, humanity, and ethics.

Many books are written about the best of life such as “The Best Beaches on O’ahu” for example. Sometimes books are written about the great accomplishments of people in history like King Kamehameha. In Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, he reaches down into the depths of disparity and depression to give us his look at the worst people, places, and events in his world. Ginsberg’s soul explodes in a plethora of figurative language not for the faint of heart. Ginsberg battles with capitalism, the law, universities, religious institutions, spirituality, and even God where he rolls them up into one entity titled “Moloch...” (80).

It is evident from the very beginning that Ginsberg is disillusioned with American society, and he is ready to turn his back on what he feels has been oppressing him. "America I've given you all and now I'm

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.

Howl, Allen Ginsberg’s best-known poem was his most popular and most controversial work of literature. This poem is separated into three different parts. The title Howl is in reference to protest and cry for all exploitation and repression. The poet asks the reader to “cry against capitalism” (Howl 7-8). Ginsberg was a headstrong social and political activist during his time. He related to the free spirited hippie generation and the make love, not war movement. He also revolted against mainstream American culture as a way to challenge other civilian’s mindsets. Calling “Howl” a story isn’t accurate, its more Ginsberg describing his environment and his subjects on paper. The first line begins with, "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness...."(Ginsberg Howl 1). The minds that he is writing about are that of his fellow friends, acquaintances and literary

Allen Ginsberg is a brand name of the Beat Generation. In Howl, Allen Ginsberg expresses his unconventional views of society throughout the poem. He references his hate for mainstream living and his love for the dark underground world of self expression and spiritual freedom. Ginsberg’s language and opinions are contentious for the 1950s. Howl is written to open the eyes of Americans, and to cry out against conformity and exploitation.

From Socrates to Galileo to Van Gogh, geniuses are misunderstood and ostracized. Their concepts and alternatives to current reason are inconceivable at first to the ordinary mind. Censorship was a pressing issue for Ginsberg as it was for Orwell. It is meant to protect the public, but of course can be used to quell information. In the inclusive line “If we don’t show anyone, we’re free to write anything,” Ginsberg unearths a whole new topic. No one can look inside your mind. It is a tangent, yet the salience remains. The fluidity of the poem is conversational. One contiguous comment leads to another and that’s how some brains work, especially the brains of drug users. An idea can open doors and walk anywhere. Many phrases in this poem are paradoxical. The reader is forced to pause and reread line 13. “Remember the future”. Symbolically, this line forks no roads, but literally it invokes a 30 car pile up. In line 14, “Advise only yourself”, Ginsberg tells the reader to trust your instinct while simultaneously giving advice.

Allen Ginsberg’s revolutionary poem, Howl, is a powerful portrayal of life degraded. It represents the harsh life of the beat generation and chronicles the struggles of the repressed. Howl is a poem of destruction. Destruction of mind, body, and soul through the oppression of the individual. Using powerful diction, Allen Ginsberg describes this abolition of life and its implications through our human understanding of abstractions like Time, Eternity, and self. The poem’s jumbled phrasing and drastic emotion seems to correspond with the minds of the people it describes. Ginsberg uses surprisingly precise and purposeful writing to weave the complex

The poet mother had moved from Russia to different states, while his father pursued a job as teaching students and writing poetry and both of Ginsberg parents were Jewish members. Throughout his childhood, his mother had suffered from psychological troubles, including nervous breakdowns. Throughout his preteen years, Allen Ginsberg was inspired by the by the poet Walt Whitman during his high school years. He began to be inspired by this poet and listen to his teacher passionate reading .Ginsberg also got his love for poetry from his father, when they used to attend the poetry reading together. As a teenager, Ginsberg used to have a journal and he would write letters to the New York time about issues that he didn’t like such as World War.

Whitman and Ginsberg share the same points of view that can be seen through not only the words in their poetry, but through how they share similar poetic techniques. In part 1 of “Howl”, Ginsberg repeats the word “who” to begin many of the lines. This gives readers the impression that every strophe in “Howl” is separated with the word “who”. In “Song of Myself”, Whitman often used such devices of repeated identification, here he writes, “It cannot fall the young man who died and was buried, Nor the young woman who died and