Similarities Between Whitman And Ginsberg

Ginsberg: A Modern Whitman with a Twist Postmodernism, a movement in the late 20th century, followed the Modernism movement during the late 19th and early 20th century. The Modernism movement is characterized as a movement that steered away from 19th century traditions in art, religion and faith, and literature. It encouraged rebellion against the cultural norm, was a change for the believed “outdated” day to day life, and focused on finding the meaning/root. At the time, it was believed that science and reason have the answers to the truth and are the foundations of knowledge. With the postmodernism movement following, it was deemed negatively by those who thought it was simply an embellishment of the modernist movement. A characteristic of this movement was the borrowing of modernist’s techniques unashamedly, which was also held a negative reaction. However, the postmodernist movement was a time of openness, meaning, diversity, and chaos. Other characteristics of this time include; the belief of no universal truth, irrationality of things, the belief that science and reason are myths created by man, and, social constructivism. Some people see the modernist movement as bland and postmodernism as a movement against that while others see it as a continuation of the Modernist movement. Both poets, Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg are thought to have been influential to these time periods and movements. Whitman is often thought of as the “father of modernism”, with Ginsberg being considered a foundational postmodernist poet, known for being influenced by Walt Whitman and imitating his ways. Although their …show more content…
Although free verse is hard to define, Whitman and Ginsberg similarly use free verse techniques. In Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Whitman starts off many stanzas off with the same word/phrase. For