Allen Ginsberg's HOWL – Offending Meaning

In the poem Howl part one, Allen Ginsberg travels all over the world and describes his life and the “ best minds of his generation” (1) the beat poets. Ginsberg expresses his tone with emptiness, darkness, and depression. Part two; the word Moloch represents war, governments, psychiatric hospital, universities and any other social authorities. Ginsberg conveys that Moloch is responsible for war and sorrows; this ties to the first part of Ginsberg poem. In part three; “I’m with you in Rockland”, where Rockland represents the mental hospital. With the calmer tone, he addresses his friend from “Rockland” Carl Solomon. He conveys how Solomon suffers from delusions, and compares Solomon with his mother. “I’m with you in Rockland

Allen Ginsberg was one of the greatest admired Beat Generation poets, who particularly used free flowing, aggressive and occasionally a discourteous style of language to show that the rule and social structure over heterosexuality can be filled with opposition, so he decided to release queerness. Ginsberg strongly disputed capitalism and conformity that notably consisted of sexual repression, so he incorporated in the development of counterculture and challenged the heteronormative, procreation-driven society and was done with living at society’s limits. The idea of beat literature has a capricious form, although, also considers the customary narration techniques, and indeed masculinist and heterosexist prospects. The Beat generation indicates an individual that has been put down, or has been oppressed around with deviated norms. Therefore, this impression of queerness is a representation of him being an activist in society and used to take action to encourage his differences, which contributes to strange and prohibited behaviours. In this essay, being central to vicious and pleased queer performative spaces in the city and embodying sexuality, it will examine Allen’s, ‘Howl’ and ‘Sunflower Sutra’, interpreting queer theory, and that it is essential to ideas of gender and sexuality that are necessary for radical solidarity, Allen being a gay activist his principles of his character seem unreasonable or destructive in contemporary political circumstances in America’s sexual

The standards of obscenity and what is and is not protected by the First Amendment has evolved as the fields of literature and art have expanded. In 1956, the headlines were filled with mentions of Howl being fought about in court. Howl, a poem written by Ginsberg, is focused on the “outcast” groups of American society such as the mentally ill, members of the LGBT community, and drug users. Originally, he did not intend for the poem to get out to the public due to the references from his own life with past loves, friends, and experiences. But Ferlinghetti, overhearing the poem read for the first time publically, offered to publish the poem. Soon afterwards, the poem was taken to court. The personal bits and certain details of the poem got the poem sent to court where it was put through the newer standards and reading practices to determine obscenity. At the end of the trial, the judge determined that Howl was not be obscene and was protected by the First Amendment.

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.

The Chameleon of Poetry: A Literary Analysis of Howl by Allen Ginsberg The tones that we portray every day change from one to the next, sort of like how a chameleon changes color depending on the environment that they are in. I personally change my tone when handling certain situations that occur, situations such as arguments. When in an argument with my significant other, for example, I go from calm to angry very quickly. Words are spewed out left and right in a chaos of disagreements.

But as quoted in both the poem and the movie Howl, I do think, “it’s a bunch of sensitive bullshit.” What I enjoy about Howl is that it starts out as a night out and later becomes a personal dialogue on people around him and the government’s effects on them. It to me is more of a narrative of hanging with his friends getting wasted and experiencing the night. It’s like the stories that you are never supposed to of to anyone other than those who were there, yet Ginsberg spills all the beans so to speak. Ginsberg also is very open with his sexuality and who he is as a person

The truth was banging on the inside of his head and he was able to let those feelings out through his famous poem Howl. In Howl, Allen Ginsberg provides a change in tone throughout each part of his poem, that allows him to express his feelings towards the restrictions that society places upon him. It took much courage for Allen Ginsberg to begin writing what he called his most personal "imaginative

Howl, by Allen Ginsberg, is an inaccessible writing with such obscure references from a unique personal life and small subculture from 50 years ago that it cannot stand on its own today. It tackles issues society has already decided, makes them completely unrelatable, and attempts to shock readers. Except to literary historians, this poem is irrelevant to modern society because of constant references to obscure places and people, frequent vulgarity to which internet-based society has been desensitized, and societal issues that already have national-level attention.

The Beat Generation is a literary movement during the 1950s that consisted of male authors including the widely known Allen Ginsberg, who explored American culture in their poems. The Beat Generation could be described as misogynistic and patriarchal due to their exclusion of women and concerns confined to only male outcasts. In Allen Ginsberg’s 1956 “Howl”, he brings his audience’s attention to male outcasts in society. In her 2015 “Howl”, a critical response to Ginsberg’s “Howl”, Amy Newman explores the oppression outcasted women endure in a male-dominated culture through the allusions of an admired female poet, Ginsberg’s original stanza form, and utilizing diction to convey a woman's perspective antithetically to Allen Ginsberg's original.

Allen Ginsberg is one of the great authors of the 20th century and he was one of the influential people who created and inspired the beat generation in literature. It was not until Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Burroughs started writing that the young generation in 1950’s America had a voice they felt was representing them in literature. Ginsberg’s most noted piece is the poem, "Howl" which he finished writing in 1955, being published in 1956 along with other poems in the book titled Howl and Other Poem. The three part poem with footnote has had mixed reviews and feelings from its readers. Some relate on an emotional level with the images they glean, while others find it to be a distasteful,

Ginsberg’s work often represents a struggle for spiritual survival in a dehumanized, repressive society. This can be seen in his writing of “Howl”:

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

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

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”.