Howl

Do some research on the history, reception, and legacy of the "Beat Generation," of which this poem is a part. Use quotes and works cited in your answer.


The “Beat Generation” began to originate in 1952 with John Clellon Holmes’ novel Go, but caught the public’s attention in 1956 when Allen Ginsberg introduced his gritty and daring poem, Howl, to the world. Its racy and scandalous content not only mustered a great amount of attention but obscenity charges, which were later dropped. Many claim that Ginsberg’s reading of Howl was the beginning of it all. His poem objected the traditional literature and social norm of that time. It defied the unwritten rules and regulations and explored fresh, seedy avenues. Allen Ginsberg used his prose to throw the literary world into a vicious shock and in turn, jump-start a cultural phenomenon.

Participants in this “Beat Generation” worked to battle against social conformity and traditional styles of writing. They used their literary pieces to question mainstream politics and culture. With the end of World War II came repair techniques to get society back on its feet. Television began to paint portraits of extremely functional families that could never exist in real life. Many products were being introduced to the market with an advertising gimmick that promised to make life better. The Beatniks, as they were often called, opposed this disillusionment. They encouraged self-discovery through drug use, casual sex, Buddhism, and music. These authors were not concerned with pleasing the world they brought their literature into but shattering the rigid society that surrounded them. “Ginsberg's willingness to experiment with his writing and break social taboos made him one of the key figures of the Beat generation, a movement aimed at breaking the conformist and often stifling atmosphere of the late 1940s and 1950s” (Groundbreaking Book).

When reading literary works from the “Beat Generation”, it is apparent that the authors didn’t hesitate to write exactly what they felt; sexual escapades, homosexuality and drug use were favored topics. Many authors utilized drugs when writing to achieve a sort of transcendentalism, including Ginsberg. Howl was actually inspired by his stay in a mental hospital where he had a peyote-induced vision. He imagined the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, California turned into Moloch, the Phoenician God and sacrificed children by fire. "Society had no room for the crazy people or the people of genius or anyone who is different," Morgan said. "That's what he is raging about in 'Howl” (Stetler). The “Beat Generation” embraced the people society rejected, which often earned them a negative stereotype. They were thought of as people dressed in all black, with incredibly pale skin, who spent all of their time in coffee shops reading poetry or walking around town muttering obscene poetry under their breath. Although the stereotype was just an accusation, one characteristic held true. Most of the authors did spend the majority of their time in coffee shops exchanging pieces with one another, often making them up on the spot. “'Howl' and other pieces composed for this type of performance are better heard and understood aloud - this type of poetry is known as spoken word poetry, and still goes on today in coffee houses across the world” (The Beat Generation). This spoken word improvisation had a direct correlation to the jazz music of that time. Artists such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis centered their music around extemporization. Beatniks attempted to write their words just as they heard jazz music.

This exploratory generation of authors brought an entirely fresh approach to literature. Things that were always dubbed taboo were now words on a page. Ideas that were unspoken were yelled into the streets. Society was challenged by the “Beat Generation”, the generation that all begun with one public reading. “'Howl' was the poem by Allen Ginsberg that really brought the Beat movement into the world. There is rhythm in it, and it is full of free-association and an accurate (depending on how you look at it) portrayal of American disillusionment” (The Beat Generation).


WORKS CITED

The Beat Generation. BBC, 27 May 2002. Web. 16 October 2009.

Groundbreaking Book: Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg (1955). The Academy of American Poets. Web. 16 October 2009.

Stetler, Carrie. “Howl” at 50: Beat Generation’s Cry. The Seattle Times Company, 6 November 2006. Web. 16 October 2009.