Allen Ginsberg's Poem Howl

Expressions of Post-World War II Politics, Based on the Poem: Howl, by Allen Ginsberg For many who were born during the era of The Great Depression, such as Allen Ginsberg, the coming years would hold for them, less than the promised American Dream. As his mother fought the demons of mental illness, and the first decade of Allen’s life faded to the past, the ominous cloud of World War II hung overhead. Events such as these inspired the young intellectual and others of his character, to walk a path less traveled, while challenging the very bedrock of the political institutions that shaped their lives. Recognizing the need to express themselves, those such as Allen, were inspired to pound-out their own rhythm of life, which gave birth to a new

This shared relationship of psychiatric intuitions between the three of them is again made clear in lines 94-96. Here he unapologetically shares with the world “Carl Solomon! I’m with you in Rockland where you’re madder than I am, I’m with you in Rockland where you feel very strange, I’m with you in Rockland where you imitate the shade of my mother’ (Ginsberg 24). When Ginsberg says “where you imitate the shade of my mother” he’s recalling and acknowledging heartfelt, and mentally tangible experiences, shared within Ginsberg’s own conscience, between himself and two people he genuinely cares

Today, looking through the rearview mirror of “Howl,” and then forward to what lies ahead, without effort we can draw parallels to Ginsberg’s thoughts, of which many are relevant in the twenty-first century. Ginsberg, in line 82, with passionate audacity, directed at the institutional norms he resists, and with literary fist raised, declares defiantly “Moloch the incomprehensible prison! Moloch the crossbone soulless jailhouse and Congress of sorrows! Moloch whose buildings are judgment! Moloch the vast stone of war! Moloch the stunned governments!” In this line he’s confronting political institutions, such as our correctional system, which is often referred to as our system of corruptions. When he speaks of “crossbone soulless jailhouse and Congress of sorrows” he’s translating to his audience visions of our correctional system, Washington D.C., Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court, each having their own ominous pirate flag of skull and crossbones, blown by the winds of sorrow, as they fail to meet the needs of those they represent. It’s likely today, many would draw a similar conclusion based on current