Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg’s America Allen Ginsberg critiques America in his poem “America”. “America” is a tangle of his own personal thoughts and beliefs. Ginsberg dabbles in and discusses topics that include some controversial subjects in America: religion and communism. These controversial subjects, along with Ginsberg’s use of clever diction and sarcasm, criticize America and its American ideals, making it seem as if the country’s fears are ironic and childish. A common theme throughout the poem is…

Howl by Allen Ginsberg, as I have researched it, is said to be one of the greatest poetic works in America. Upon reading the poem, however, I have felt the need to ask- why? Why is it that of all the poetry flying about, this one seemed to strike a chord with members of American society? Was it the controversy of the crude language used in this conservative 1950s era? Or perhaps the cold imagery of a dystopian wasteland? Was there something in the characters- the “who’s”- that the common person…

things. Just like the poet Allen Ginsberg for example. He was a famous poet during the Beat Generation. A little about the author is that he had a very sexually active imagination since he was the age of seven. He had many unusual sexual urges. During his college years…

Written on the slopes of Black Mountains in Wales, “Wales Visitation” readily captures the vastness and grandness of nature through enhanced lenses. Allen Ginsberg wrote the first draft of the poem under the influence of LSD, which contributes greatly to the unique imagery that persists throughout the entire poem. Ginsberg hones in on the details of the environment around him—rather than the minutiae of his psychedelic experience—with heightened senses and extreme focus. By concentrating on the…

In Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”, the poem aims to expose the truth behind American culture, and the fantasy behind capitalistic society. Ginsberg highlights the destructive nature of American culture, and pays close attention to the suffering of those ostracized people who fail to meet the idealistic expectations. In a poem loaded with allusions to American culture, Ginsberg paints his picture. “Howl” captures the sentiments of citizens forborne from success, proving itself a revolutionary text…

Claude McKay’s ‘America’ and Allen Ginsberg’s poem of the same title are both ‘state of the nation’ poems. Which do you think offers the more effective critique of the United States, and why? So, the Allen Ginsberg’s poem and Claude McKay song named America are pieces criticising the state of America in the times that they were written,1956 and 2015 respectively, in their respective times. The question that has been asked of us today is which of these two poems is a more effective critique of…

Using elegant symbolism, Ginsberg lets audiences know how uncomfortable he is with the way America has become. He is looking at America in the 20th century in the same manner that Walt Whitman looked at America in the 19th (Literary Cavalcade, par.2). This shows us, not only how much he has in common with Whitman, but how much he looks up to him. Like Whitman, Ginsberg is a closeted homosexual who writes on the same topics. It is evident why Ginsberg looked up to this man his entire life…

Madness! A look into Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL Famous American poet, Allen Ginsberg is well known for his vile mouth, three-part poem called “HOWL”. It was published in 1956 and was looked as part of the Beat Generation’s turning point in the social movement and became part of one of the great works of American literature history. This poem expresses his thoughts and feelings on his life experience during a rough time period, post-World War II. It is mostly described as an angry, sexual and very…

peers. Everything from the clothes a person wears to the music they listen to is picked apart by society. People would rather blend in with everyone else than stand out and risk being judged; those who do stand out in society are individuals. As Allen Ginsberg, a Beat Generation member, believes “ Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness”. One may suggest that individualism is madness. However, like a werewolf, only transforming into their true form during a full moon, people hide the…

done to improve, but more often than not, an American will tell you they live in the most wonderful country in the world, and while it has its issues, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives by far. In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman and Allen Ginsberg’s poem “America,” you see two very different approaches of two life long American citizens explaining what it is like to live in a country like the United States, but unlike many citizens, they see the faults within their country and…