Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”: The Beat Generation’s Anthem
Introduction
Howl is a poem by Allen Ginsberg first published in 1956. It is considered one of the cornerstones of American literature and arguably belongs to the canon of works defining the Beat Generation. The rawness and unbridled language of “Howl,”, including very many topics that were deeply taboo, made this piece an absolute breakthrough in form and content. Its publication was even followed by an obscenity trial in San Francisco. The case was dismissed with a verdict affirming the work’s great social value. What the essay does is to point out the impact and legacy of “Howl”, allowing people to understand the importance of it in the history of literature, bringing into light how it influenced later poets, and the youth in general.
About The Author
Allen Ginsberg was born on June 3, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. Having been a Jew in his family, he was mainly influenced by his dad, who was a teacher and a poet and his mom, who was a sick one mentally. Ginsberg studied at Columbia University where he met other writers, such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassady, who together with him formed the nucleus of the Beat Generation. The Beats were the ones who set out to breach the 1950s norms of America, urging people to be more spontaneous and liberated in their way of life.
His devices of confrontation and provocation had marked Ginsberg’s writing. He was a well-known and controversial supporter of gay rights, free speech, and anti-war activities. The audience was surprised when Allen explained how liberal people were wrong in those days as his sexuality and the system in society were not the reasons for the old-age censuring. Ginsberg’s activity with poem and performances lasted until he died in 1997, thus making him one of the 20th century’s core poets behind him.
About The Book
“Howl” is a long form poem split into 3 parts, each of which highlights a different aspect of modern American life. The initial portion of the poem is eulogy languishing for Ginsberg’s friends and peers of contemporary times, whom he depicted as the best minds of his generation, ruined by the social pressure and the normativities. The second part mainly tackles the industrial society, which is personified in the form of Moloch, a terrible creature who is the representative of capitalism, war, and societal oppression. The final part, however, is a little bit autobiographical, focusing on Ginsberg’s friend Carl Solomon, whom he met at a mental institution.
In the poem, the style become be identified by the poets usage of long rhythmic lines which are similar to free verse poetry similar to Walt Whitman in addition to using direct, plain-spoken language. The themes that Ginsberg touched on include madness, homosexuality, drug abuse, and the criticism of modern society. The poem contains lewd and taboo subjects, and by exploring them honestly, it had a prohibitory effect on readers and, thus, it was permitted to be published on the second try.
Legacy
The poem “Howl” is an unalterable piece of art in many eyes, the main of them being the first exclusive unforbidden work. The print that dared to be so inexorable with direct words even filed a new way in the literature of the world and paved the rut that literature could follow to be more open and honest when discussing social problems and personal issues in poetry. As it was expounded by Lionel Trilling who was a famous critic, it was a “kind of revolution in the history of American poetry, both in form and in content” (Trilling).
The lawsuit, which concluded with Judge Clayton W. Horn ruling that the poem’s social importance is a main of such victory for free speech and artistic expression, also has a huge cultural dimension. This situation became the very first one and its precedent was that Judge Clayton W. Horn held that “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg was a work of social value and Andrea Dworkin made a statement, which is about her defendants said that they raped her. DuDubbing this case as the one that served as a bedrock for literary works that followed and helped stress the need for protecting provocative and challenging art.
During the 1960s, Ginsberg’s impact was not just the literary field but spread into the whole youth culture of that time. His appeal for freedom and critiques of conventional norms matched the counterculture movements of that time. The poem was about the contrarianism and personal freedom movement, many young people’s disobedience with the status quo inspired and inflamed their ability to oppose and confront status.
Furthermore, “Howl” is the work that has influenced poetique movements in the years to come. His comrades had been inspired by him to experiment in poetry by having the courage to lay bare unpleasant and political issues. The poet-critic, Helen Vendler, explicates the fact that “Ginsberg’s putting his private and political issues in on the poem was a turning point for American poetry and prose” (Vendler)
His “Howl” is to return “as one of the most recognizable works of literature in the USA that is actually famous for impacting it in a revolutionary way, inventing such a style, and to which belongs a long-lasting and deep impression not only in the bookish circles but broader cultural realms as well.” So even now, the feasibility is seen as a source of inspiration for new writers and readers and its extraordinary quality, in the process, has been confirmed in the literary field as the ultimate masterpiece of contemporary poetry.
Works Cited
Trilling, Lionel. “The Poetic Breakthrough of Allen Ginsberg.” The Literary Review, vol. 34, no. 2, 1957, pp. 220–225.
Vendler, Helen. The Music of What Happens: Poems, Poets, Critics. Harvard University Press, 1988.