Howl

A Poem that Changed the World

Introduction and Thesis

Throughout history, authors have come and gone, books have been written and published. Though all these authors published amazing literary works, very few have been able to impact and influence the world. Allen Ginsberg was one of the few authors that was able to influence the world with his words. Although Ginsberg received major backlash for his poem “Howl” due to the homosexual presences and language, the poem would set the path of inspiration for years to come.

About the Author

Irwin Allen Ginsberg was born on June 3rd, 1926 into a Jewish family that lived in Newark, New Jersey. His mother was schizophrenic and she spent most of Ginsberg’s childhood in a mental institute. She had delusions, disordered thinking, and attempted suicide on multiple occasions. Her illness would become an inspiration for two of his works, one of them being “Howl.”

While he was growing up, Ginsberg was active in political issues by writing letters to the New York Times. When he got into high school, he wrote his first poem when he got inspired by his teacher’s readings. He attended Montclair State College before he got into Columbia University on a scholarship.

At his time in Columbia University he met a handful of people who would continue to inspire him. Lucien Carr would introduce him to future Beat Writers, Gregory Corso would inspire Ginsberg through his works of poetry, and Carl Soloman would have the poem “Howl” dedicated to him.

About the Book

According to Tony Trigilo, “First published in the volume Howl and Other Poems, “Howl” is the best-known poem of the Beat generation… it is considered one of the principal works of literature that launched the Beat generation.” The poem, published in 1956, shows the main character refusing to follow the normal values of religion, social, and sexual orientation that was set after World War II in the United States.

Ginsberg used long lines instead of the short lines you would find in a poem. This is considered “reminiscent of Walt Whitman’s long lines, which themselves were derived from the King James Bible.” by Caitlin Shanely. Shanely also proceeds to say “The first and third sections of the poem also employ Whitman’s characteristic listing, with a base word or phrase to unite the lines as a section.”

Ginsberg’s main focus was to show anyone else who did not follow societal norms that they were not alone. Ginsberg wanted to show that what society considered normal was not the only way people lived their lives. People had other religions, other ways of life, other sexualities.

The Legacy

As said before, “Howl” was one of the works that really helped the Beat Generation launch. The Beat Generation was a movement led by authors who would create literary works that would explore beyond the societal norms of post World War II America.

The story opens up with the lines “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” This line alone sets the tone that says that Ginsberg is tired of these values that are considered normal. The values that are pushed onto society, no matter what they want. These tones are what sparks the want for change.

Ginsberg follows these lines up with “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” Ginsberg continuously uses dark and kind of morbid toning to set the idea of ‘this is what we deal with and we are tired of it.’

In section two, Ginsberg structures it as a kind of chant by starting each sentence with the same word for the majority of the section. “Moloch whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running money!” Ginsberg is trying to convey the message that this similar mind thinking is similar to that of a machine. These people do not care about you, they are selfish. Anything that they do will be beneficial to themselves, they only want to make money.

Section three is completely dedicated to his friend, Carl Soloman. “Carl Solomon! I’m with you in Rockland” Throughout the three sections, Ginsberg talks about what society is not used to seeing in literature, topics that are considered taboo. He received major backlash and copies of his works were even being seized. However, “Howl” sparked the inspiration in people that was needed to make change.

Works Cited

Ginsberg, A. (1956). Howl. City Lights.

Shanley, Caitlin. “‘Howl.’” Student’s Encyclopedia of Great American Writers, Facts On File, 2021. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=95547&itemid=WE54&articleId=479803. Accessed 16 June 2023.

Trigilio, Tony. “‘Howl.’” Encyclopedia of Beat Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=95547&itemid=WE54&articleId=30887. Accessed 16 June 2023.