Analysis Of Alan Ginsberg s Howl - 1343 Words

Poetry has a special ability to drive in a main theme or point in the same way that a powerful image can. It does this through careful selection and use of the language, ensuring the words create an image in the minds of the reader that is even stronger than the words themselves. Like a powerful image, poetry can transfer a sense of meaning directly to the subconscious brain without the conscious mind realizing it. By paying special attention to how this is done within the poem, analyzing the words used and how they are put together, the meaning of the poem moves back into the conscious mind and can relate profound meaning regarding the human condition or the state of society. In his poem â€Å"HOWL†, Alan Ginsberg attempts to comment on the state of modern society and its effects on the â€Å"best minds† and â€Å"angel-headed hipsters† as the hipsters become crushed under a force collectively termed Moloch from which the only escape is madness. Ginsberg introduces the protagonists of his story in Part I of the poem. They are the â€Å"best minds† and â€Å"angel-headed hipsters† of his generation, but their lives are a wreck, their brilliance is wasted, their angel-heads are severely tarnished. Written from the point of view of an insider, the section offers a sympathetic tone to the realistic portrayal. Ginsberg uses a form he invented called long-line verse to offer these descriptions which are really more like mini-vignettes of their lives and organizes them on a fixed base. In this part ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Ginsbergs Howl Essay2804 Words   |  12 PagesWilliam Wordsworths definition of poetry as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings is more evident in Allen Ginsbergs Howl than just about any other poem (Wordsworth). Divided into three distinctive sections as well as an additional footnote, the poem utilizes a writing style based on self-symmetry to act as the framework for this overflow. The progression from one section to the next gives an impression of a crumbling society, brought to its knees through years of excessive lifestyle