Wednesday, January 28, 2015

More on Howl

Part three and the footnote are dramatically different in tone from the rest of the poem, but still use a similar format and style that connect it back to the previous sections. In the first part Ginsburg is referring to others of the Beat Generation, but in the third part he is directly talking about himself. In the footnote there is a shift from using no punctuation to using exclamation points excessively. This shows a shift in the way that this part of the poem should be read. Now, no longer is the poem a running mass of lines strung together in an endless mass to be read continually, but now Ginsburg punctuates words and statements using the exclamation point to convey the way this part should be read. Loud and shouting words and statements, coupled with the use of the word holy this invokes the image of a person or better a priest giving a testament in church and changes the tone and direction of the poem. By using the word holy he is placing everything onto a level playing field and lifting up thing that would normally be considered to go unnoticed.

Why would Ginsburg choose to end this poem in this way?

Were there other parts in the poem that stuck out to you, and if they did for what reason, what was Ginsburg trying to convey?


What could be his reasons for lifting things up to be at the same level?

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