A Comparison of Whitman’s Song of Myself with Ginsberg’s Howl

In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempts to speak on behalf of the entire American population. He tries to pull the reader into a world of many possibilities. Whitman makes a

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

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

Walt Whitman is one of the most influential writers in American History. Although greatly unappreciated in his time, Whitman’s works were truly groundbreaking and served as the basis to usher in a completely new literary movement. Growing up and writing in a era of American History of immense change on numerous spectrums, Walt Whitman’s literary works explored many of these new concepts and ideologies brought forward during this time. As possibly the most important poet of the American Romantic movement, Walt Whitman’s poetry such as “For You O Democracy” and “I Sing the Body Electric” exemplified resurging and new found American ideals stemming from the events of the early to mid nineteenth century. With economic, physical, ideological,

Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.

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.

The form of Ginsberg’s poem challenges the American culture by resistance from “best minds”. Howl is separated to three sections that include long lines, which look like paragraphs. Resisting

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.

In “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman, I, referring to Whitman’s individualism, celebrate myself, and sing to myself. I sit down and relax in a field of summer grass. I observe all my surroundings, and understand every atom in my body was formed from this world, and every atom that is mine is also yours. Furthermore, the summer grass grows the same everywhere regardless of the area or people living there.

Walt Whitman was arguably one of the best writers of the nineteenth century. The different combinations of the verse forms and challenges of contrasting cultures that led him to establish a pure American style of literature, and he is frequently publicized as the “father” of free verse. Whitman initiated one of the most unique styles of literature in the 19th century, it was a form that was instantly recognized. The characteristics of his style were having substantial attention of personal self, specifically Whitman himself. Also, having a heavy habit of using free verse in his literature, and having a style that attempts to cover all possibilities and to emphasize the details of the real world.

Because America itself was still a relatively young nation, its poetry lacks the years of history and growth that have defined the voices of other nations. However, within the past century American poetry has developed into a distinctive and accomplished art of its own. The creation of this poetic voice is often attributed to Walt Whitman, who has been coined the “Father of American Poetry.” His revolutionary style and anti-traditional subject matter, amplified in his infamous poem “Song of Myself”, have paved the way for future generations of American Writers. Furthermore, his unique use of the line and breath has had a huge influence on many poets' own work, particularly the writing of the more contemporary poet: Allen Ginsberg, whose controversial poem “Howl” echoes many of the characteristics of Whitman's prose.

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

Walt Whitman is regarded as one of the most influential poets in American history while Allen Ginsberg was and still is considered a leading figure of the Beat Generation. Both of these poets have similar poetic tendencies even though they were almost a century apart from each other. Walt Whitman helped to inspire many literary descendants ranging from writers to poets alike. One of his most famous poems is in his book, “Leaves of Grass”, called “Song of Myself”. Allen Ginsberg can be considered one of Walt Whitman’s literary descendants due to the numerous similarities between “Song of Myself” and Ginsberg’s “Howl”, which is about the real experiences of Americans after World War II.

Title- The song of myself sounds like a poem of self expression, and a gospel of Walt Whitman's’ self beliefs. When his optimistic outlook on life is brought into perspective, one could also conclude that the poem was about his positive and radical outlook on life, because it is a song of himself, his personal expression.