Influences on the Formation of the Beat Generation Demonstrated in Allen Ginsberg’s "Howl"
by Emily Wilkins
At first glance, Allen Ginsberg’s "Howl" appears to be his own adaptation of the Beat era in which certain people are experiencing certain events and are condemned by the mainstream for their drug use, homosexuality, and expression of their through literature. Despite what "Howl" appears to be at the surface level, the poem can also be read as a künstlerroman, or an artist’s coming of age story in which the Beats form a collective identity of artists because of their similar experiences. A künstlerroman is a piece of literature that tells the story of how an artist matures and becomes a writer, painter, etc. Ginsberg uses "Howl" as a künstlerroman in order to recount the formation of the Beat poets as a whole, a configuration that was also heavily influenced by the establishment of the Harlem Renaissance writers. He first identifies the Beats as a collective identity that has done all of these things that lead to negative outcomes, such as discrimination by the general public for actions considered to be unconventional, but took them and made them significant to who they became as a group of poets.
Ginsberg begins this künstlerroman by first identifying the Beats as a single, unified identity. He does this by introducing the Beats as “the best minds of [his] generation” and “angelheaded hipsters” in the first few lines of the poem (1, 3). In recounting the events that happened to this group of people, he does not go through and say these things happened to these individuals, but instead recounts each event as if it were happening to the same person, without differentiating between any other people that may have been experiencing the same thing. It is, however, made obvious throughout the poem that this is not the story of one individual but instead a list of events is happening to a group of people. These people are addressed as “they” or “them” without mentioning names because of this idea that the Beats are of the same unified body of people. By viewing the Beats as this lump sum of people, Ginsberg creates the idea that these individuals have all experienced the same events at the same time, causing them to produce similar works with a common purpose: “to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless and intelligent and shaking with shame” (75). In this same statement, Ginsberg is also making the implication that it is the trials of the Beats themselves that have shaped them into the Beat identity.
The Beats did things that were not the “norm”, which excluded them from the mainstream that shunned unconventional practices such as homosexuality and drug use. The Beats, however, were rather big fans of these practices, as described by Ginsberg throughout Howl. The Beat poets were “expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes”, “burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue” and treated with “the concrete void of insulin Metrazol electricity hydrotherapy psychotherapy occupational therapy pingpong & amnesia” to cure their so-called insanity (7, 31, 67). They were thrown in to madhouses and ignored by the rest of the world. The Beats embraced this rejection and used it to cultivate their own form of literature. Because the Beats were rejected by the mainstream, they were no longer forced to conform to the restraints of mainstream literature. They created their own works based off of their own experiences and beliefs which were different than those experienced by the poets who were generally accepted by mainstream society. The Beats were able to turn these negative situations into inspirations to become “the best minds of [Ginsberg’s] generation” and to produce works unlike any others during that time period (1). They rose out of the ashes of their own demise, dusted themselves off, and joined together to become the Beat generation. They were no longer criticized for their beliefs and practiced, but instead were looked up to for refusing to succumb to the influence of the mainstream.
This development of the Beat identity as described by Ginsberg in Howl was also greatly influenced by the development of the artists of the Harlem Renaissance. These artists faced many hardships similar to those described in Howl. The Harlem Renaissance writers were mocked by society for their deviance from what was generally accepted by the mainstream. It was their emergence from the sea of negativity around them that brought the Harlem Renaissance writers to life. Not unlike the Beats, the Harlem Renaissance writers took society’s criticism of their cultures and beliefs and used it to create works that had never been done before. The Beats tried to mimic the Harlem Renaissance writers’ acceptance of their differences from the rest of society and expression of those differences in their literature. These writers were well established and recognized by society, which made them an excellent role model for the newly forming Beats. The Beats “lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup” because this influence meant something to them. The jazz and blues styles of the Harlem Renaissance were just as important to the Beats as sex to cure their loneliness, and soup to fill their bellies. Ginsberg also describes the Beats having reincarnated “in the ghostly clothes of jazz” which can be interpreted as the Beats rising up out of the death of jazz (77). However jazz was not dead, but very much alive and acknowledged by the mainstream at that time. The death that is referenced here is the “dying” of the Harlem Renaissance writers caused by the hardships they faced when first exposing themselves to the ridicule of the mainstream. Because it was this death that crafted the Harlem Renaissance writers into these highly influential writers, it was this same sort of foundation that the Beat generation sought after. They formed their identity almost as an extension of the Harlem Renaissance generation, from the same exclusion from society and scorn and madness faced by the Harlem Renaissance writers.
Ginsberg uses "Howl" in a way that tells the story of how the Beats came to be. The negativity of the criticism from mainstream society along with the influence of the Harlem Renaissance gave the Beats inspiration in their works, as demonstrated in "Howl". The Beats were able to overcome society's disapproval of their literary works and beliefs with the assistance of the Harlem Renaissance and its participant's ability to surpass similar obstacles. The Beats based their works on the obstacles that they encountered, creating works that were completely different from any others during that era. These works have continued to influence American literature through the proceeding decades.
Ginsberg begins this künstlerroman by first identifying the Beats as a single, unified identity. He does this by introducing the Beats as “the best minds of [his] generation” and “angelheaded hipsters” in the first few lines of the poem (1, 3). In recounting the events that happened to this group of people, he does not go through and say these things happened to these individuals, but instead recounts each event as if it were happening to the same person, without differentiating between any other people that may have been experiencing the same thing. It is, however, made obvious throughout the poem that this is not the story of one individual but instead a list of events is happening to a group of people. These people are addressed as “they” or “them” without mentioning names because of this idea that the Beats are of the same unified body of people. By viewing the Beats as this lump sum of people, Ginsberg creates the idea that these individuals have all experienced the same events at the same time, causing them to produce similar works with a common purpose: “to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless and intelligent and shaking with shame” (75). In this same statement, Ginsberg is also making the implication that it is the trials of the Beats themselves that have shaped them into the Beat identity.
The Beats did things that were not the “norm”, which excluded them from the mainstream that shunned unconventional practices such as homosexuality and drug use. The Beats, however, were rather big fans of these practices, as described by Ginsberg throughout Howl. The Beat poets were “expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes”, “burned alive in their innocent flannel suits on Madison Avenue” and treated with “the concrete void of insulin Metrazol electricity hydrotherapy psychotherapy occupational therapy pingpong & amnesia” to cure their so-called insanity (7, 31, 67). They were thrown in to madhouses and ignored by the rest of the world. The Beats embraced this rejection and used it to cultivate their own form of literature. Because the Beats were rejected by the mainstream, they were no longer forced to conform to the restraints of mainstream literature. They created their own works based off of their own experiences and beliefs which were different than those experienced by the poets who were generally accepted by mainstream society. The Beats were able to turn these negative situations into inspirations to become “the best minds of [Ginsberg’s] generation” and to produce works unlike any others during that time period (1). They rose out of the ashes of their own demise, dusted themselves off, and joined together to become the Beat generation. They were no longer criticized for their beliefs and practiced, but instead were looked up to for refusing to succumb to the influence of the mainstream.
This development of the Beat identity as described by Ginsberg in Howl was also greatly influenced by the development of the artists of the Harlem Renaissance. These artists faced many hardships similar to those described in Howl. The Harlem Renaissance writers were mocked by society for their deviance from what was generally accepted by the mainstream. It was their emergence from the sea of negativity around them that brought the Harlem Renaissance writers to life. Not unlike the Beats, the Harlem Renaissance writers took society’s criticism of their cultures and beliefs and used it to create works that had never been done before. The Beats tried to mimic the Harlem Renaissance writers’ acceptance of their differences from the rest of society and expression of those differences in their literature. These writers were well established and recognized by society, which made them an excellent role model for the newly forming Beats. The Beats “lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup” because this influence meant something to them. The jazz and blues styles of the Harlem Renaissance were just as important to the Beats as sex to cure their loneliness, and soup to fill their bellies. Ginsberg also describes the Beats having reincarnated “in the ghostly clothes of jazz” which can be interpreted as the Beats rising up out of the death of jazz (77). However jazz was not dead, but very much alive and acknowledged by the mainstream at that time. The death that is referenced here is the “dying” of the Harlem Renaissance writers caused by the hardships they faced when first exposing themselves to the ridicule of the mainstream. Because it was this death that crafted the Harlem Renaissance writers into these highly influential writers, it was this same sort of foundation that the Beat generation sought after. They formed their identity almost as an extension of the Harlem Renaissance generation, from the same exclusion from society and scorn and madness faced by the Harlem Renaissance writers.
Ginsberg uses "Howl" in a way that tells the story of how the Beats came to be. The negativity of the criticism from mainstream society along with the influence of the Harlem Renaissance gave the Beats inspiration in their works, as demonstrated in "Howl". The Beats were able to overcome society's disapproval of their literary works and beliefs with the assistance of the Harlem Renaissance and its participant's ability to surpass similar obstacles. The Beats based their works on the obstacles that they encountered, creating works that were completely different from any others during that era. These works have continued to influence American literature through the proceeding decades.
Works Cited
Ginsberg, Allen. "Howl by Allen Ginsberg : The Poetry Foundation." Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179381>.
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