Introduction: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg, a seminal work of American poetry, first appeared in 1956 as part of his collection “Howl and Other Poems.” This poem serves as visceral representation of the Beat Generation, a countercultural movement that emerged in the 1950s. Characterized by its long, flowing lines, stream-of-consciousness style, and evocative imagery, “Howl” contributes to its emotional intensity and impact. Its explicit language and themes challenged social norms and led to an obscenity trial, which ultimately helped to to be placed as a landmark work of literature. Actually, it is a celebration of rebellion, nonconformity, and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment in a society perceived as materialistic and oppressive.
Text: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
For Carl Solomon
I
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,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz,
who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs illuminated,
who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy among the scholars of war,
who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull,
who cowered in unshaven rooms in underwear, burning their money in wastebaskets and listening to the Terror through the wall,
who got busted in their pubic beards returning through Laredo with a belt of marijuana for New York,
who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley, death, or purgatoried their torsos night after night
with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol and c*ck and endless balls,
incomparable blind streets of shuddering cloud and lightning in the mind leaping toward poles of Canada & Paterson, illuminating all the motionless world of Time between,
Peyote solidities of halls, backyard green tree cemetery dawns, wine drunkenness over the rooftops, storefront boroughs of teahead joyride neon blinking traffic light, sun and moon and tree vibrations in the roaring winter dusks of Brooklyn, ashcan rantings and kind king light of mind,
who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down shuddering mouth-wracked and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance in the drear light of Zoo,
who sank all night in submarine light of Bickford’s floated out and sat through the stale beer afternoon in desolate Fugazzi’s, listening to the crack of doom on the hydrogen jukebox,
who talked continuously seventy hours from park to pad to bar to Bellevue to museum to the Brooklyn Bridge,
a lost battalion of platonic conversationalists jumping down the stoops off fire escapes off windowsills off Empire State out of the moon,
yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories and anecdotes and eyeball kicks and shocks of hospitals and jails and wars,
whole intellects disgorged in total recall for seven days and nights with brilliant eyes, meat for the Synagogue cast on the pavement,
who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey leaving a trail of ambiguous picture postcards of Atlantic City Hall,
suffering Eastern sweats and Tangerian bone-grindings and migraines of China under junk-withdrawal in Newark’s bleak furnished room,
who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts,
who lit cigarettes in boxcars boxcars boxcars racketing through snow toward lonesome farms in grandfather night,
who studied Plotinus Poe St. John of the Cross telepathy and bop kabbalah because the cosmos instinctively vibrated at their feet in Kansas,
who loned it through the streets of Idaho seeking visionary indian angels who were visionary indian angels,
who thought they were only mad when Baltimore gleamed in supernatural ecstasy,
who jumped in limousines with the Chinaman of Oklahoma on the impulse of winter midnight streetlight smalltown rain,
who lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup, and followed the brilliant Spaniard to converse about America and Eternity, a hopeless task, and so took ship to Africa,
who disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico leaving behind nothing but the shadow of dungarees and the lava and ash of poetry scattered in fireplace Chicago,
who reappeared on the West Coast investigating the FBI in beards and shorts with big pacifist eyes sexy in their dark skin passing out incomprehensible leaflets,
who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism,
who distributed Supercommunist pamphlets in Union Square weeping and undressing while the sirens of Los Alamos wailed them down, and wailed down Wall, and the Staten Island ferry also wailed,
who broke down crying in white gymnasiums naked and trembling before the machinery of other skeletons,
who bit detectives in the neck and shrieked with delight in policecars for committing no crime but their own wild cooking pederasty and intoxication,
who howled on their knees in the subway and were dragged off the roof waving genitals and manuscripts,
who let themselves be f*cked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy,
who blew and were blown by those human seraphim, the sailors, caresses of Atlantic and Caribbean love,
who balled in the morning in the evenings in rosegardens and the grass of public parks and cemeteries scattering their s*men freely to whomever come who may,
who hiccuped endlessly trying to giggle but wound up with a sob behind a partition in a Turkish Bath when the blond & naked angel came to pierce them with a sword,
who lost their loveboys to the three old shrews of fate the one eyed shrew of the heterosexual dollar the one eyed shrew that winks out of the womb and the one eyed shrew that does nothing but sit on her ass and snip the intellectual golden threads of the craftsman’s loom,
who copulated ecstatic and insatiate with a bottle of beer a sweetheart a package of cigarettes a candle and fell off the bed, and continued along the floor and down the hall and ended fainting on the wall with a vision of ultimate c*nt and come eluding the last gyzym of consciousness,
who sweetened the snatches of a million girls trembling in the sunset, and were red eyed in the morning but prepared to sweeten the snatch of the sunrise, flashing buttocks under barns and naked in the lake,
who went out whoring through Colorado in myriad stolen night-cars, N.C., secret hero of these poems, cocksman and Adonis of Denver—joy to the memory of his innumerable lays of girls in empty lots & diner backyards, moviehouses’ rickety rows, on mountaintops in caves or with gaunt waitresses in familiar roadside lonely petticoat upliftings & especially secret gas-station solipsisms of johns, & hometown alleys too,
who faded out in vast sordid movies, were shifted in dreams, woke on a sudden Manhattan, and picked themselves up out of basements hung-over with heartless Tokay and horrors of Third Avenue iron dreams & stumbled to unemployment offices,
who walked all night with their shoes full of blood on the snowbank docks waiting for a door in the East River to open to a room full of steam-heat and opium,
who created great suicidal dramas on the apartment cliff-banks of the Hudson under the wartime blue floodlight of the moon & their heads shall be crowned with laurel in oblivion,
who ate the lamb stew of the imagination or digested the crab at the muddy bottom of the rivers of Bowery,
who wept at the romance of the streets with their pushcarts full of onions and bad music,
who sat in boxes breathing in the darkness under the bridge, and rose up to build harpsichords in their lofts,
who coughed on the sixth floor of Harlem crowned with flame under the tubercular sky surrounded by orange crates of theology,
who scribbled all night rocking and rolling over lofty incantations which in the yellow morning were stanzas of gibberish,
who cooked rotten animals lung heart feet tail borsht & tortillas dreaming of the pure vegetable kingdom,
who plunged themselves under meat trucks looking for an egg,
who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, & alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade,
who cut their wrists three times successively unsuccessfully, gave up and were forced to open antique stores where they thought they were growing old and cried,
who were burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue amid blasts of leaden verse & the tanked-up clatter of the iron regiments of fashion & the nitroglycerine shrieks of the fairies of advertising & the mustard gas of sinister intelligent editors, or were run down by the drunken taxicabs of Absolute Reality,
who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge this actually happened and walked away unknown and forgotten into the ghostly daze of Chinatown soup alleyways & firetrucks, not even one free beer,
who sang out of their windows in despair, fell out of the subway window, jumped in the filthy Passaic, leaped on negroes, cried all over the street, danced on broken wineglasses barefoot smashed phonograph records of nostalgic European 1930s German jazz finished the whiskey and threw up groaning into the bloody toilet, moans in their ears and the blast of colossal steamwhistles,
who barreled down the highways of the past journeying to each other’s hotrod-Golgotha jail-solitude watch or Birmingham jazz incarnation,
who drove crosscountry seventytwo hours to find out if I had a vision or you had a vision or he had a vision to find out Eternity,
who journeyed to Denver, who died in Denver, who came back to Denver & waited in vain, who watched over Denver & brooded & loned in Denver and finally went away to find out the Time, & now Denver is lonesome for her heroes,
who fell on their knees in hopeless cathedrals praying for each other’s salvation and light and breasts, until the soul illuminated its hair for a second,
who crashed through their minds in jail waiting for impossible criminals with golden heads and the charm of reality in their hearts who sang sweet blues to Alcatraz,
who retired to Mexico to cultivate a habit, or Rocky Mount to tender Buddha or Tangiers to boys or Southern Pacific to the black locomotive or Harvard to Narcissus to Woodlawn to the daisychain or grave,
who demanded sanity trials accusing the radio of hypnotism & were left with their insanity & their hands & a hung jury,
who threw potato salad at CCNY lecturers on Dadaism and subsequently presented themselves on the granite steps of the madhouse with shaven heads and harlequin speech of suicide, demanding instantaneous lobotomy,
and who were given instead the concrete void of insulin Metrazol electricity hydrotherapy psychotherapy occupational therapy pingpong & amnesia,
who in humorless protest overturned only one symbolic pingpong table, resting briefly in catatonia,
returning years later truly bald except for a wig of blood, and tears and fingers, to the visible madman doom of the wards of the madtowns of the East,
Pilgrim State’s Rockland’s and Greystone’s foetid halls, bickering with the echoes of the soul, rocking and rolling in the midnight solitude-bench dolmen-realms of love, dream of life a nightmare, bodies turned to stone as heavy as the moon,
with mother finally ******, and the last fantastic book flung out of the tenement window, and the last door closed at 4 A.M. and the last telephone slammed at the wall in reply and the last furnished room emptied down to the last piece of mental furniture, a yellow paper rose twisted on a wire hanger in the closet, and even that imaginary, nothing but a hopeful little bit of hallucination—
ah, Carl, while you are not safe I am not safe, and now you’re really in the total animal soup of time—
and who therefore ran through the icy streets obsessed with a sudden flash of the alchemy of the use of the ellipsis catalogue a variable measure and the vibrating plane,
who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images and joined the elemental verbs and set the noun and dash of consciousness together jumping with sensation of Pater Omnipotens Aeterna Deus
to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless and intelligent and shaking with shame, rejected yet confessing out the soul to conform to the rhythm of thought in his naked and endless head,
the madman bum and angel beat in Time, unknown, yet putting down here what might be left to say in time come after death,
and rose reincarnate in the ghostly clothes of jazz in the goldhorn shadow of the band and blew the suffering of America’s naked mind for love into an eli eli lamma lamma sabacthani saxophone cry that shivered the cities down to the last radio
with the absolute heart of the poem of life butchered out of their own bodies good to eat a thousand years.
II
What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?
Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!
Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch! Moloch the loveless! Mental Moloch! Moloch the heavy judger of men!
Moloch the incomprehensible prison! Moloch the crossbone soulless jailhouse and Congress of sorrows! Moloch whose buildings are judgment! Moloch the vast stone of war! Moloch the stunned governments!
Moloch whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running money! Moloch whose fingers are ten armies! Moloch whose breast is a cannibal dynamo! Moloch whose ear is a smoking tomb!
Moloch whose eyes are a thousand blind windows! Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs! Moloch whose factories dream and croak in the fog! Moloch whose smoke-stacks and antennae crown the cities!
Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone! Moloch whose soul is electricity and banks! Moloch whose poverty is the specter of genius! Moloch whose fate is a cloud of sexless hydrogen! Moloch whose name is the Mind!
Moloch in whom I sit lonely! Moloch in whom I dream Angels! Crazy in Moloch! C*cks*cker in Moloch! Lacklove and manless in Moloch!
Moloch who entered my soul early! Moloch in whom I am a consciousness without a body! Moloch who frightened me out of my natural ecstasy! Moloch whom I abandon! Wake up in Moloch! Light streaming out of the sky!
Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! invisible suburbs! skeleton treasuries! blind capitals! demonic industries! spectral nations! invincible madhouses! granite c*cks! monstrous bombs!
They broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven! Pavements, trees, radios, tons! lifting the city to Heaven which exists and is everywhere about us!
Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river!
Dreams! adorations! illuminations! religions! the whole boatload of sensitive bullshit!
Breakthroughs! over the river! flips and crucifixions! gone down the flood! Highs! Epiphanies! Despairs! Ten years’ animal screams and suicides! Minds! New loves! Mad generation! down on the rocks of Time!
Real holy laughter in the river! They saw it all! the wild eyes! the holy yells! They bade farewell! They jumped off the roof! to solitude! waving! carrying flowers! Down to the river! into the street!
III
Carl Solomon! I’m with you in Rockland
where you’re madder than I am
I’m with you in Rockland
where you must feel very strange
I’m with you in Rockland
where you imitate the shade of my mother
I’m with you in Rockland
where you’ve murdered your twelve secretaries
I’m with you in Rockland
where you laugh at this invisible humor
I’m with you in Rockland
where we are great writers on the same dreadful typewriter
I’m with you in Rockland
where your condition has become serious and is reported on the radio
I’m with you in Rockland
where the faculties of the skull no longer admit the worms of the senses
I’m with you in Rockland
where you drink the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
I’m with you in Rockland
where you pun on the bodies of your nurses the harpies of the Bronx
I’m with you in Rockland
where you scream in a straightjacket that you’re losing the game of the actual pingpong of the abyss
I’m with you in Rockland
where you bang on the catatonic piano the soul is innocent and immortal it should never die ungodly in an armed madhouse
I’m with you in Rockland
where fifty more shocks will never return your soul to its body again from its pilgrimage to a cross in the void
I’m with you in Rockland
where you accuse your doctors of insanity and plot the Hebrew socialist revolution against the fascist national Golgotha
I’m with you in Rockland
where you will split the heavens of Long Island and resurrect your living human Jesus from the superhuman tomb
I’m with you in Rockland
where there are twentyfive thousand mad comrades all together singing the final stanzas of the Internationale
I’m with you in Rockland
where we hug and kiss the United States under our bedsheets the United States that coughs all night and won’t let us sleep
I’m with you in Rockland
where we wake up electrified out of the coma by our own souls’ airplanes roaring over the roof they’ve come to drop angelic bombs the hospital illuminates itself imaginary walls collapse O skinny legions run outside O starry-spangled shock of mercy the eternal war is here O victory forget your underwear we’re free
I’m with you in Rockland
in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door of my cottage in the Western night
San Francisco, 1955—1956
Annotations: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
| Line | Text | Annotation |
| 1 | I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, | The speaker laments the fate of brilliant individuals (“best minds”) who have suffered mental breakdowns and are in desperate situations. |
| 5 | who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs illuminated, | References to spiritual experiences and visions under the influence of drugs or intense experiences in urban settings. |
| 10 | who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley, death, or purgatoried their torsos night after night | Describes extreme and self-destructive behaviors indicative of the struggles and excesses of the Beat Generation. |
| 15 | Yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories and anecdotes and eyeball kicks and shocks | Reflects the frenetic, stream-of-consciousness style of communication and interaction among the Beat poets and their milieu. |
| 20 | who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey leaving a trail of ambiguous picture postcards of Atlantic City Hall, | Mentions the desire for spiritual enlightenment (“Zen”) juxtaposed with mundane and transient aspects of American culture. |
| 25 | who thought they were only mad when Baltimore gleamed in supernatural ecstasy, | Suggests moments of profound revelation or altered states of consciousness (“supernatural ecstasy”) misunderstood as madness. |
| 30 | who lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup, | Highlights the quest for basic human needs and desires amidst a sense of alienation and longing. |
| 35 | who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism, | Critique of capitalist consumerism and its impact on personal and social identity. |
| 40 | who howled on their knees in the subway and were dragged off the roof waving genitals and manuscripts, | Expresses rebellion and artistic expression (“waving genitals and manuscripts”) against societal norms and constraints. |
| 45 | who let themselves be f*cked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy, | Provocative imagery and references to unconventional sexual practices, possibly symbolic of rebellion and transcendence. |
| 50 | who sweetened the snatches of a million girls trembling in the sunset, and were red eyed in the morning | Romantic and sexual exploits juxtaposed with the aftermath and emotional turmoil. |
| 55 | who drove crosscountry seventytwo hours to find out if I had a vision or you had a vision or he had a vision to find out Eternity, | Quest for existential meaning and spiritual enlightenment through physical journeys and experiences. |
| 60 | who created great suicidal dramas on the apartment cliff-banks of the Hudson under the wartime blue floodlight of the moon | Describes dramatic and intense personal struggles against the backdrop of historical and societal pressures. |
| 65 | who scribbled all night rocking and rolling over lofty incantations which in the yellow morning were stanzas of gibberish, | References to the creative process and the transformation of intense experiences into poetic expression. |
| 70 | who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, | Symbolic act rejecting conventional measures of time and embracing timeless truths or values. |
| 75 | who were burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue amid blasts of leaden verse | Vivid imagery of the destruction of innocence and creativity in the face of commercialism and societal pressures. |
| 80 | who barreled down the highways of the past journeying to each other’s hotrod-Golgotha jail-solitude watch or Birmingham jazz incarnation | Mixes references to counterculture and literary influences with themes of isolation and self-discovery. |
| 85 | who retired to Mexico to cultivate a habit, or Rocky Mount to tender Buddha or Tangiers to boys | References to seeking alternative lifestyles and spiritual enlightenment in diverse geographic and cultural settings. |
| 90 | who demanded sanity trials accusing the radio of hypnotism & were left with their insanity & their hands & a hung jury, | Critique of societal norms and the treatment of non-conformists, questioning institutionalized definitions of sanity. |
| 95 | who in humorless protest overturned only one symbolic pingpong table, resting briefly in catatonia, | Symbolizes futile rebellion and the struggle against societal constraints, with a touch of absurdity. |
| 100 | Pilgrim State’s Rockland’s and Greystone’s foetid halls, bickering with the echoes of the soul, rocking and rolling in the midnight solitude-bench dolmen-realms of love | Describes institutional confinement and its impact on individual identity and spiritual life. |
| 105 | with mother finally ******, and the last fantastic book flung out of the tenement window, | Sense of loss and despair, with a hint of rebellion against familial and societal expectations. |
| 110 | who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images | Describes the poetic process of creating connections and meaning through juxtaposition and surreal imagery. |
| 115 | to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless and intelligent and shaking with shame | Aspires to transcend conventional language and express profound truths, despite personal vulnerability. |
| 120 | and rose reincarnate in the ghostly clothes of jazz in the goldhorn shadow of the band and blew the suffering of America’s naked mind for love | Embraces jazz as a metaphor for creative expression and cultural identity amidst societal suffering. |
| 125 | with the absolute heart of the poem of life butchered out of their own bodies good to eat a thousand years | Powerful metaphor for sacrifice and the transformative power of art, suggesting enduring significance. |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
- Example: “who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts,”
- Explanation: Allusions are indirect references to historical, literary, or cultural figures, events, or works, enriching the text with deeper meanings and associations.
- Example: “I’m with you in Rockland / where…”
- Explanation: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines, emphasizing those ideas and creating a rhythmic effect.
- Example: “ah, Carl, while you are not safe I am not safe,”
- Explanation: Apostrophe addresses an absent person or an abstract concept directly, often expressing intense emotion or emphasizing the speaker’s connection to the subject.
- Example: “who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey,”
- Explanation: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words, creating internal rhyming and enhancing the musicality of the poem.
- Example: “Moloch the loveless! Mental Moloch!”
- Explanation: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words, which can create subtle rhyme and reinforce the mood or theme of the poem.
- Example: “who disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico leaving behind nothing but the shadow of dungarees and the lava and ash of poetry scattered in fireplace Chicago,”
- Explanation: Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across lines or stanzas without a pause, creating a sense of fluidity and connecting ideas beyond the line breaks.
- Example: “who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley,”
- Explanation: Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect, intensifying the impact of the images and experiences described.
- Example: “sun and moon and tree vibrations in the roaring winter dusks of Brooklyn,”
- Explanation: Imagery uses sensory details (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) to create vivid mental images and evoke emotions, making the poem more immersive and memorable.
- Example: “who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism,”
- Explanation: Irony involves a contrast between what is stated and what is meant, often revealing a discrepancy between appearance and reality or highlighting societal contradictions.
- Example: “Moloch whose buildings are judgment!”
- Explanation: Metaphor compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as,” allowing complex ideas and emotions to be conveyed indirectly through symbolic language.
- Example: “yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts,”
- Explanation: Onomatopoeia refers to words that imitate the sound they represent, adding auditory texture and emphasizing the intensity or nature of the actions described.
- Example: “Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs!”
- Explanation: Personification attributes human qualities or actions to non-human entities, animating them and making them more relatable or vivid.
- Example: “Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch!”
- Explanation: Repetition of words or phrases reinforces key ideas or themes, creating a rhythmic pattern and emphasizing the intensity of the speaker’s emotions or thoughts.
- Example: The entire poem can be seen as a satirical critique of contemporary American society, its values, and institutions, using humor, exaggeration, and irony to expose societal flaws.
- Example: “Pavements, trees, radios, tons! lifting the city to Heaven which exists and is everywhere about us!”
- Explanation: Simile compares two unlike things using “like” or “as,” allowing for vivid descriptions and enhancing the reader’s understanding through direct comparison.
- Example: “Moloch the heavy judger of men!”
- Explanation: Symbolism uses objects, characters, or actions to represent abstract ideas or concepts, adding layers of meaning and inviting deeper interpretation of the poem.
- Example: “who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism,”
- Explanation: Synecdoche uses a part of something to represent the whole or vice versa, offering condensed descriptions and highlighting specific aspects of broader themes.
- Example: The poem’s tone is often urgent, rebellious, and lamenting, reflecting the speaker’s emotional intensity and critical perspective on contemporary society.
- Example: “who reappeared on the West Coast investigating the FBI in beards and shorts with big pacifist eyes sexy in their dark skin passing out incomprehensible leaflets,”
- Explanation: Zeugma uses a single word or phrase to govern or modify two or more words in the sentence, often in a surprising or unexpected way, creating layers of meaning and wordplay.
Themes: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
1. Counterculture and Rebellion
- Example from the Poem: “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness…”
- Analysis: “Howl” is a passionate outcry against the conformity and materialism of post-World War II America. It portrays the beat generation’s rejection of societal norms, celebrating nonconformity, experimentation with drugs, alternative lifestyles, and sexual liberation. Ginsberg’s vivid descriptions of individuals who rebelled against societal expectations highlight their struggle against a culture that they viewed as oppressive and spiritually bankrupt.
2. Alienation and Despair
- Example from the Poem: “who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts,”
- Analysis: The poem captures the profound sense of alienation and despair experienced by the individuals Ginsberg portrays. Their search for meaning and connection is juxtaposed against a backdrop of urban decay and societal fragmentation. The references to wandering aimlessly and feeling lost reflect a deeper existential crisis, where individuals struggle to find their place in a world that seems indifferent and hostile.
3. Spirituality and Transcendence
- Example from the Poem: “angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,”
- Analysis: Amidst the chaos and disillusionment, “Howl” also explores themes of spirituality and transcendence. The mention of “angelheaded hipsters” seeking a connection to the divine suggests a longing for higher meaning and spiritual enlightenment. Ginsberg’s portrayal of hallucinatory experiences and mystical visions reflects a quest for transcendence beyond the materialistic concerns of mainstream society.
4. Critique of Capitalism and Consumerism
- Example from the Poem: “who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism,”
- Analysis: Ginsberg critiques the capitalist system for its dehumanizing effects and the pervasive influence of consumerism. The references to individuals protesting against capitalist oppression highlight the poem’s socio-political commentary. Ginsberg’s use of vivid imagery and satire underscores his disdain for a society where human values are sacrificed at the altar of profit, portraying capitalism as a force that stifles creativity and individuality.
Literary Theories and “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
- Critique: Marxist theory focuses on the socioeconomic power struggles within a society. “Howl” is a scathing critique of capitalism and the dehumanization it causes. Ginsberg rails against the “Moloch” of industrial society, which he sees as devouring the individual’s spirit and creativity.
- Specific References:
- “Moloch whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running money! Moloch whose fingers are ten armies! Moloch whose breast is a cannibal dynamo!”
- “Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone! Moloch whose soul is electricity and banks!”
These references highlight how Ginsberg sees capitalism as a monstrous entity driven by greed and consumption, leading to spiritual emptiness.
2. Beat Generation Aesthetic
- Critique: The Beat Generation’s aesthetic emphasized personal liberation, spiritual exploration, and rejection of materialism. “Howl” embodies these ideals through its free verse structure, raw language, and exploration of unconventional themes like drug use, sexuality, and mental illness.
- Specific References:
- “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…”
- “Who copulated ecstatic and insatiate with a bottle of beer a sweetheart a package of cigarettes a candle…”
These lines reflect the Beat Generation’s emphasis on personal experience, even if it’s considered taboo or marginalized.
- Critique: Psychoanalytic theory explores the unconscious mind and the role of repressed desires and traumas. “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg can be seen as a manifestation of Ginsberg’s personal struggles with mental illness, sexuality, and societal pressures.
- Specific References:
- “Who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, & alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade…”
- “Who cut their wrists three times successively unsuccessfully…”
- “Who were burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue…”
These images can be interpreted as symbols of internal conflict and the destructive forces of societal expectations.
Topics, Questions, and Relevant Thesis Statements about “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
| Topic | Questions | Thesis Statements |
| 1. Countercultural Movement | – How does “Howl” reflect the values and attitudes of the Beat Generation? | Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” serves as a manifesto of the Beat Generation, rejecting societal norms and celebrating nonconformity, individualism, and spiritual exploration. |
| – In what ways does Ginsberg critique mainstream American culture in “Howl”? | Ginsberg’s critique of mainstream American culture in “Howl” exposes its materialism, conformity, and alienation, advocating for a more authentic and spiritually aware existence. | |
| 2. Themes of Alienation | – How does Ginsberg depict alienation in “Howl”? | Through vivid imagery and personal anecdotes, Ginsberg portrays the profound alienation experienced by individuals who feel disconnected from society and its values. |
| – What role does the theme of alienation play in shaping the narrative of “Howl”? | The theme of alienation in “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg underscores the existential crisis faced by the Beat Generation, highlighting their quest for meaning and identity amidst societal fragmentation. | |
| 3. Spiritual Quest | – How does Ginsberg explore spirituality and transcendence in “Howl”? | Ginsberg’s depiction of “angelheaded hipsters” and mystical experiences reflects a longing for spiritual connection and transcendence beyond the material world. |
| – What significance does the search for spiritual enlightenment have in “Howl”? | The search for spiritual enlightenment in “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg signifies a rejection of materialism and a quest for higher meaning and authenticity in a spiritually barren post-war America. | |
| 4. Socio-Political Critique | – What socio-political issues does Ginsberg address in “Howl”? | Ginsberg’s critique of capitalism, consumerism, and societal oppression in “Howl” challenges the dehumanizing effects of modernity and advocates for social justice and reform. |
| – How does “Howl” serve as a commentary on the cultural and political landscape of its time? | “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg critiques the cultural and political landscape of post-war America, exposing its flaws and advocating for a more compassionate and spiritually aware society. |
Critical Questions about “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
- How does Ginsberg use imagery and language to challenge societal norms in “Howl”?
- Allen Ginsberg employs vivid and often shocking imagery throughout “Howl” to confront and critique the societal norms of his time. For instance, in the opening lines, he vividly describes “the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,” portraying them as “starving hysterical naked” individuals driven to desperation by societal pressures and conformity (Ginsberg, lines 1-2). This imagery not only captures the raw anguish and rebellion of the Beat Generation but also challenges the sanitized facade of post-war America. Ginsberg’s use of graphic language, such as “who bared their brains to Heaven under the El,” exposes the spiritual void and existential angst plaguing individuals caught in the machinery of modern urban life (Ginsberg, line 5). By depicting these individuals as “angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection,” Ginsberg critiques the materialistic and spiritually bankrupt culture of his time, advocating instead for a deeper, more authentic human experience rooted in personal freedom and spiritual exploration (Ginsberg, line 3).
- In what ways does “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg critique the commodification of human experience and emotions?
- “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg serves as a vehement critique of the commodification of human experience and emotions in post-war America. Ginsberg’s portrayal of individuals consumed by their pursuit of material pleasures and societal acceptance reflects a broader indictment of capitalism’s dehumanizing effects. For instance, he describes the “angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection,” juxtaposing their yearning for spiritual fulfillment against the backdrop of a society driven by consumerism and superficiality (Ginsberg, line 3). The poem’s relentless imagery of despair and disillusionment, such as individuals “dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,” underscores the emptiness and despair that accompany a life driven by materialistic desires (Ginsberg, line 2). Through these stark portrayals, Ginsberg challenges the notion of progress and economic prosperity at the expense of human dignity and spiritual fulfillment. His critique extends beyond mere condemnation, urging readers to reevaluate their priorities and reclaim their humanity amidst a culture obsessed with profit and superficial success.
- How does Ginsberg use the structure and form of “Howl” to convey the poem’s themes and emotions?
- Allen Ginsberg’s unconventional use of structure and form in “Howl” mirrors the chaotic and rebellious spirit of the Beat Generation while effectively conveying its themes and emotions. The poem is divided into three distinctive sections, each with its own thematic focus and emotional intensity. The first section begins with a passionate outcry against the societal conformity and oppression faced by the best minds of Ginsberg’s generation. The long lines and rhythmic repetitions, such as “who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking,” create a sense of urgency and desperation, echoing the fragmented thoughts and experiences of the disaffected youth (Ginsberg, line 4). In contrast, the second section shifts to a more surreal and hallucinatory tone, personifying societal forces as Moloch, the devourer of souls. Ginsberg’s use of repetitive phrases and disjointed imagery, such as “Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs,” amplifies the poem’s critique of dehumanization and alienation under capitalism (Ginsberg, line 105). Finally, the third section, addressed directly to Carl Solomon, offers a glimpse of hope and solidarity amidst the despair, celebrating the resilience and spirit of rebellion that defines the Beat Generation. Through its innovative structure and form, “Howl” not only captures the tumultuous emotions of its time but also invites readers to confront the existential challenges and societal injustices that continue to resonate today.
- How does personal experiences and background shape the themes and narrative of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg?
- Allen Ginsberg’s personal experiences and background profoundly influence the themes and narrative of “Howl,” imbuing the poem with authenticity and raw emotion. Ginsberg draws on his own struggles with identity, sexuality, and mental health to depict the alienation and despair experienced by the Beat Generation. For instance, his exploration of homosexuality and unconventional sexual practices in lines like “who let themselves be f*cked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists” reflects Ginsberg’s own experiences and challenges societal taboos surrounding sexuality (Ginsberg, line 38). Moreover, his close friendships and collaborations with other Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, inform the poem’s themes of rebellion and nonconformity. Ginsberg’s use of autobiographical details and personal anecdotes, such as references to his mother and his interactions with mental health institutions, grounds “Howl” in a deeply personal and intimate narrative. Through these personal connections, Ginsberg invites readers to empathize with the struggles of his generation and to consider the broader implications of societal norms and expectations on individual freedom and self-expression.
Literary Works Similar to “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
- “A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg: Point of Similarity with “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg: Both poems explore themes of alienation, disillusionment with society, and the search for personal identity. Ginsberg’s exploration of these themes through vivid imagery and unconventional structure is a hallmark of both poems.
- “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman: Point of Similarity: Like Ginsberg’s “Howl,” Whitman’s poem celebrates individuality and nonconformity, challenging societal norms and exploring the complexity of human experience. Both poets use free verse and a sweeping, inclusive style to capture the diversity and vitality of American life.
- “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot: Point of Similarity: Both poems depict a fragmented and disillusioned modern world, reflecting the disintegration of traditional values and the search for meaning in an increasingly chaotic and alienating society. Eliot, like Ginsberg, employs a variety of literary and cultural references to evoke a sense of cultural decay and spiritual desolation.
- “America” by Allen Ginsberg: Point of Similarity: In “America,” Ginsberg continues his exploration of American society and politics, much like he does in “Howl.” Both poems critique consumerism, conformity, and political apathy while celebrating personal freedom and the individual spirit. Ginsberg’s irreverent and provocative style is evident in both works, challenging readers to question societal norms and embrace personal authenticity.
Suggested Readings: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
Books:
- Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books, 1956.
- Charters, Ann (ed.). The Portable Beat Reader. Penguin Books, 1992.
- Kramer, Jane. Allen Ginsberg in America. Random House, 1968.
Weblinks:
- The Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl
- Academy of American Poets: https://poets.org/poem/howl
Representative Quotations of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Perspective |
| “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked…” | This opening line sets the tone for the poem, describing the disillusionment and suffering of Ginsberg’s contemporaries, the Beat Generation. The line portrays a generation ravaged by societal pressures, mental illness, and the search for authenticity. | Critical Theory: This line critiques the societal norms and pressures that lead to the destruction of creative and intellectual minds. It reflects Ginsberg’s Marxist critique of capitalism and the alienation it causes. |
| “who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down shuddering mouth-wracked and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance in the drear light of Zoo…” | This passage describes the frenetic, chaotic lifestyle of the Beats, chasing highs and seeking meaning in a mechanized world. It captures the sense of despair and exhaustion amidst the urban landscape. | Psychoanalysis: The use of drugs and the relentless pursuit of pleasure can be viewed through a Freudian lens, where these actions represent attempts to escape reality and find fulfillment. |
| “Moloch whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running money! Moloch whose fingers are ten armies! Moloch whose breast is a cannibal dynamo!” | Here, Ginsberg personifies “Moloch,” symbolizing industrialization, capitalism, and the dehumanizing forces of modernity. Moloch represents a soulless, devouring entity that consumes human potential and spirit. | Postmodernism: This image reflects the postmodern critique of mass society and its alienating effects on individuals, where human beings are reduced to cogs in a larger machine driven by profit and power. |
| “who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts…” | This line speaks to the aimlessness and restlessness of the Beats, constantly on the move, seeking meaning and experience but often leaving behind chaos and broken relationships. It reflects a sense of existential wandering and the quest for authenticity. | Existentialism: The notion of wandering without a clear destination echoes existential themes of freedom, choice, and the search for individual meaning in a world devoid of inherent purpose. |
| “who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley, death, or purgatoried their torsos night after night…” | This vivid imagery describes extreme experiences and self-destructive behaviors undertaken by the Beats in pursuit of artistic and personal liberation. It portrays a desire to transcend societal constraints through intense, often dangerous, experiences. | Poststructuralism: These actions can be interpreted as attempts to deconstruct societal norms and binaries (such as sanity vs. madness, safety vs. danger) in order to explore new forms of existence and expression. |