Howl By Allen Ginsberg

It is not an overstatement to claim that Allen Ginsberg, probably the most famous Beatnik poet, is one of America’s greatest and most significant poets. One might say the most influential and imitated poet along with Walt Whitman and Charles Bukowski. The 2010 motion picture “Howl”, which depicts the 1957 obscenity trial of Ginsberg’s most celebrated poem of the same name, is further proof of his position within American culture. Everything concerning the poem, the first reading of it in the Six Gallery which, according to Raskin is extremely important because: If there had not been a Six Gallery reading, there would not have been an ongoing Beat Generation”(2), the obscenity trial and simply the quality and energy of the poem are all reason
“Howl” has three parts (and a footnote), the first two (the second partially) were written in 1954-1955, the third part was added after the Six Gallery reading. It is written in free verse with the focus on rhythm. In a way it is almost written like prose. The poem has a very biblical and mystical tone, which is not a surprise because the beatniks were fascinated with religious and mystical texts and often incorporated them into their own work. Part one addresses his generation, the “angelheaded hipsters” who do drugs, listen to jazz, travel and do things some people would say are insane. It is this madness that, in a way, keeps them normal, which helps them rebel and not become part of a system. Through repetition and powerful images Ginsberg establishes a rhythm that makes the reader feel he is reading some ancient chant or a vision of a shaman: “ ‘Howl’ expresses a contemporary definition with the concept of transcendence and examines the personal and social consequences of trying to achieve and return from the state of transcendence” (Stephenson 1). And this is true because Ginsberg said many times that he feels like a rabbi, but I would say he is more of a mystic: “(…)the poet, for a visionary instant, transcends the realm of the actual into the realm of the ideal, and then, unable to sustain the vision, returns to the realm of the actual”(Stephenson 1). There are heavy allusions to (homosexual) intercourse and this is also very important for the beatniks. The body, i.e. using the body and sexual liberty are part of the beatnik philosophy: “The acceptance of the body is essential for Ginsberg, for senses can be a way to illumination”(Stephenson