Free As A Verse Ginsberg Analysis
Free as a Verse:
The Relationship between Form and Content in the Work of Allan Ginsberg Charles Olson once wrote that “form is never more than an extension of content.” (1054) No poet better exemplifies this concept than Allan Ginsberg, one of the most famous writers of the beat generation. By exploring Ginsberg’s use of form and content in his poetry, one can better understand why the relationship between the two makes his work so incredibly evocative. One can begin this analysis by sampling three of his most critically acclaimed poems: “Howl”, “A Supermarket in California” and “America”. By examining these three works, we can determine that it is the Whitman-like free verse technique of Ginsberg’s writing that is the main factor tying …show more content…
This is also drawn from the work of Whitman, and can be found in several of his works including “Song of Myself”. Ginsberg uses it in this poem most evidently when listing different place names throughout the poem, such as New Jersey, Atlantic City, China, Newark, Idaho, Baltimore, Oklahoma, Houston, America, Africa, Mexico, Chicago, Staten Island in the first section of “Howl”. Also in this section of the poem, is the best example of alliteration in the piece: “and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance.” (Ginsberg 338)
“Howl” may variably reek of Walt Whitman, but this Jeremiad takes on a life of it’s own outside the parameters of form with its complex and emotionally charged content. The poem begins with an expression of memory. The speaker is looking back on what has happened and reflecting. Primarily set in the NYC area, the poem takes the reader on a journey through the city’s poorest neighborhoods, and notable beat-generation haunts, while also leading the reader on a Kerouac-style trek across Ginsberg’s …show more content…
The rejection of authority, rules and order consume the section in a relative tirade against the mythical ‘Moloch”, the symbol of authority in the world of the poem. He represents greed and consumption, which is a deplorable concept to the speaker. Ginsberg writes: “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.” (339) This is a commentary on the institution of education, and it’s suffocating effect on creativity. The rules oppress, according to Ginsberg- even in religion. Although he is clearly spiritual he does not adhere to any particular creed: “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.” (Ginsberg 341) His use of the creature Moloch is a representation of non-conformity, revolting against the authority of civilization, accepting freedom in
The Relationship between Form and Content in the Work of Allan Ginsberg Charles Olson once wrote that “form is never more than an extension of content.” (1054) No poet better exemplifies this concept than Allan Ginsberg, one of the most famous writers of the beat generation. By exploring Ginsberg’s use of form and content in his poetry, one can better understand why the relationship between the two makes his work so incredibly evocative. One can begin this analysis by sampling three of his most critically acclaimed poems: “Howl”, “A Supermarket in California” and “America”. By examining these three works, we can determine that it is the Whitman-like free verse technique of Ginsberg’s writing that is the main factor tying …show more content…
This is also drawn from the work of Whitman, and can be found in several of his works including “Song of Myself”. Ginsberg uses it in this poem most evidently when listing different place names throughout the poem, such as New Jersey, Atlantic City, China, Newark, Idaho, Baltimore, Oklahoma, Houston, America, Africa, Mexico, Chicago, Staten Island in the first section of “Howl”. Also in this section of the poem, is the best example of alliteration in the piece: “and battered bleak of brain all drained of brilliance.” (Ginsberg 338)
“Howl” may variably reek of Walt Whitman, but this Jeremiad takes on a life of it’s own outside the parameters of form with its complex and emotionally charged content. The poem begins with an expression of memory. The speaker is looking back on what has happened and reflecting. Primarily set in the NYC area, the poem takes the reader on a journey through the city’s poorest neighborhoods, and notable beat-generation haunts, while also leading the reader on a Kerouac-style trek across Ginsberg’s …show more content…
The rejection of authority, rules and order consume the section in a relative tirade against the mythical ‘Moloch”, the symbol of authority in the world of the poem. He represents greed and consumption, which is a deplorable concept to the speaker. Ginsberg writes: “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.” (339) This is a commentary on the institution of education, and it’s suffocating effect on creativity. The rules oppress, according to Ginsberg- even in religion. Although he is clearly spiritual he does not adhere to any particular creed: “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.” (Ginsberg 341) His use of the creature Moloch is a representation of non-conformity, revolting against the authority of civilization, accepting freedom in