Walt Whitman Predicting Ginsberg Analysis

Whitman Predicting Ginsberg Every piece of poetry examined thus far this semester has had one common underlying thread. Regardless of form, style, or language, every collection of works has served as a vehicle to document history and warn humanity about the future. A fine example of this is the juxtaposition of mid 19th century poet Walt Whitman, and mid 20th century poet Allen Ginsberg. In his poem, Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry, Whitman envisions a hopeful future for America, while subtly warning of the dismal future that could easily happen if American’s were not careful. His optimistic vision does not come to fruition, leaving only his forlorn future to occur. Whitman’s prediction of this harsh future is expertly portrayed in Allen Ginsberg’s contemporary work describing 1950’s America. Ginsberg’s works, America and Howl, directly respond to Whitman’s warnings, document the present times, and warn future generations. Whitman’s collection of poems, Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry, describes his personal struggle and eventual understanding of being one person amidst a crowd. His broad realization is that many people will experience the same emotions he is feeling, journey the same routes he is traveling, and battle with the same troubles his is struggling with. To Whitman, these commonalities that connect all of society are as eternal as the city he lives in. This recognition allows him to connect with the mass of strangers around him, rather than separating himself. This strong unchanging sense of community is part of his hopeful vision of America. In his conclusion, he prescribes: Thrive, cities! bring your freight, bring your shows, ample and sufficient rivers, Expand, being than which none else is perhaps more spiritual, Keep your places, objects than which none else is more lasting. (Section 9) This hopeful vision for America is one based in unwavering constancy, just like his ideal of commonality among all people. His ideal for this beloved nation’s future is for it to remain, and if it is to change, let it be in the form of expansion. Perhaps equally as important is Whitman’s subtle warning for the future. This occurs at the peak of his commonality realization. In section six, he discusses human “dark” moments, writing: It is not upon you alone the dark patches fall, The dark threw its patches down upon me also, The best I had done seem’d to me blank and suspicious, My great thoughts as I supposed them, were they not in reality meagre? Nor is it you alone who know what it is to be evil, I am he who knew what it was to be evil, I too knitted the old knot of contrariety, Blabb’d, blushe’d, resented, lied, stole, grudg’d, Had guile, anger, lust, hot wishes I dared not speak, Was wayward,vain, greedy, shallow, sly,a solitary committer,a coward, malignant, The wolf, the snake, the hog, not wanting in me. The cheating look, the frivolous work, the adulterous wish, not wanting, Refusals, hates, postponements, meanness, laziness, none of these wanting, Was one with the rest, the days and haps of the rest, In one sense, his words are meant to comfort society. Not only does the population share in feeling the same emotions, and traveling the same roads, but they all commit the same socially unacceptable actions. With this knowledge there are no outcasts, and even in the lowest of actions one can still feel included in the overall sense of community. In another sense, this passage is a particularly stern warning to the country as a whole. In describing such a multitude of deplorable actions that individuals are guilty of, and admitting that he too is guilty of them, he is by no means granting permission, but rather highlighting the fact …show more content…
His instructions, found in the final section of Howl, titled “Footnote to Howl,” is a modern prayer paired with the sarcasm of Ginsberg. It’s rhythm and repetition a reminiscent of a chaotic spiritual incantation rather than a work of poetry. If the first section presents a descriptive account of the despondent people and events of the 1950’s, the final movement bookends the set of poems as an instruction to save future generations from a further dismal existence. In the final two lines of the “Footnote”, Ginsberg sheds his cynicism,