HOWL
McKenna Conover
August 19, 2009
John Rubio
English 11
Howl
In the poem “Howl” written by Allen Ginsberg evoked emotion and social awareness of the illness and madness of the people and the American society. Ginsberg’s poem is divided into three parts, and each part of the poem has a different kind of emotion and focus. This essay will be focusing on the different parts like sex, drugs, and misery. Also Ginsberg’s thoughts of society, and how he ends Howl in dramatic art expressing his feelings, and his feelings towards a loved one that goes insane.
Howl is not a negative poem, I find howl an inspirational story about how humanity and the realization of love. The first part of the story is more of a raw style and chilling images of his friends and how they acted in town. Ginsberg came from a poor family and was homosexual. In America of the 1950’s, none of these things were accepted in a polite society, freedom of speech, or suicide feelings were a natural reaction.
In part two of Howl Ginsberg’s poem starts talking about situations with drugs and alcohol, the destruction of society, and also the result of materialism. Materialism invited bad into society because this causes attitude of America during that time. “Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! Invisible suburbs! Skeleton treasuries! Blind capitals! Demonic industries! Spectral nations! Invincible madhouses! Granite cocks! Monstrous bombs”.
The third part of Howl it is directly addressed to Carl Solomon whom Ginsberg met during a brief stays at a psychiatric hospital in 1949; called "Rockland". “I’m with you in Rockland/where you scream in a straightjacket” to “fifty more shocks will never return your soul to its body again…”Ginsberg worshiped him”. This poem changed Ginsberg life because he was seen as a controversial man that made people naturally drawn to other literary works.
August 19, 2009
John Rubio
English 11
Howl
In the poem “Howl” written by Allen Ginsberg evoked emotion and social awareness of the illness and madness of the people and the American society. Ginsberg’s poem is divided into three parts, and each part of the poem has a different kind of emotion and focus. This essay will be focusing on the different parts like sex, drugs, and misery. Also Ginsberg’s thoughts of society, and how he ends Howl in dramatic art expressing his feelings, and his feelings towards a loved one that goes insane.
Howl is not a negative poem, I find howl an inspirational story about how humanity and the realization of love. The first part of the story is more of a raw style and chilling images of his friends and how they acted in town. Ginsberg came from a poor family and was homosexual. In America of the 1950’s, none of these things were accepted in a polite society, freedom of speech, or suicide feelings were a natural reaction.
In part two of Howl Ginsberg’s poem starts talking about situations with drugs and alcohol, the destruction of society, and also the result of materialism. Materialism invited bad into society because this causes attitude of America during that time. “Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! Invisible suburbs! Skeleton treasuries! Blind capitals! Demonic industries! Spectral nations! Invincible madhouses! Granite cocks! Monstrous bombs”.
The third part of Howl it is directly addressed to Carl Solomon whom Ginsberg met during a brief stays at a psychiatric hospital in 1949; called "Rockland". “I’m with you in Rockland/where you scream in a straightjacket” to “fifty more shocks will never return your soul to its body again…”Ginsberg worshiped him”. This poem changed Ginsberg life because he was seen as a controversial man that made people naturally drawn to other literary works.