1. Very much like in punk-rock (Phillips, 2015), it seems
that one theme that is present in Howl’s poetry is the desire to abolish the old/the
tradition and bring in the new/the creation.
In your honest opinion, do you find it more important
to support what is traditional, i.e. the heritage of a generation, of a specific
cultural period – positive or negative – or to, from that point, create
something new, and keep developing new idea(l)s, new works, new identities? Should
every generation have its own voice?
2. In the first part of the poem, Ginsberg makes quite a few
references to the academies and universities. Not only were “the best minds of
his generation” expelled from the academies, but also in line 10 there is an
interesting expression: “scholars of war”.
Some questions arise here: how do you interpret
Ginsberg’s perception of the academies and universities (good or bad), and how
do you justify it being so?
Also, what do you think he means to imply by using
this particular expression (“scholars of war”)?
3. There are several religious elements throughout "Howl”.
These elements are scattered and almost abstractly put, I’d say, as they make
no allusion to any religious beliefs. What do you think these religious elements
signify in the poem?
Finally, I invite you to listen to Allen Ginsberg
reciting his poem on February of 1956, in Portland. Think about the tone and rhythm
in which he is reciting. What conclusions do you draw?
It is definetely importante that each generation has its own voice. One generation is always different from its past generation. The times have changed so have the ideals and ideas. However, we should not forget the ones that have come before us and the things they fought for. Remembering the past it's what prevents us from committing the same mistakes others have made. And also, we should not forget that we are able to be and have what we are and have because the ones before us fought for it and if we forget, we are losing important parts of our history and growth. We should not choose one over the other but should live in the present always remembering the past. With all this in mind each generation should defend their own morals and ideas.
ReplyDeleteAna Beatriz Pinto
By writing "Howl", Ginsberg tried to attack the forces of materialism and conformity in the US at the time. Therefore, I do believe that Ginsberg's perception of the academies and universities wasn't exactly positive, despite the fact that he studied at Columbia and was influenced by some of his professors to become a poet. However, he did believe that universities were responsible for sustaining warfare by inventing new weapons, supporting the need for military power, and consequently subsidizing capitalism.
ReplyDeleteConcerning religion, the speaker mentions different religions (Kabbalah, Islam, Christianity...), but doesn't hang on to one in particular. This probably means that Ginsberg isn't interested in following the dogmas and tradition of a certain religion, instead he just wants rapport with a higher power, which is known as "mysticism".
As a beat, the way he reads his poem proofs that he knows poetry and protest are closely tied together. He knows that sometimes, in order to be heard attentively, poetry needs to be "shouted" with passion, so that others may feel it too.
A condenação e denuncia que “Howl” transmite através das várias enumerações e repetições textuais são uma referência directa às antigas instituições que promovem o tradicionalismo e a proliferação dos seus costumes. Este texto revela-se uma clara libertação e renúncia, por parte dos jovens, dos ideais instituídos num movimento de contracultura. Pessoalmente acredito que são estas quebras das leis e percursos alternativos que, em conjunto, formaram a geração beat e consequentemente toda a notável produção literária, musical e artística. Contudo, a voz e importância dada à geração em questão não é formada por uma tese singular, sendo esta de se distinguir nesse sentido. Num momento de pós guerra e de enorme instabilidade várias figuras tinham a capacidade expressão e de exibição dos princípios, não como representativos de um certo sector ou área mas como um exemplo, sendo então possível haver vários modelos dentro da mesma área. Muito facilmente se vê pontos comuns ideológicos em textos de Kerouac e Burroughs, por exemplo, contudo há uma clara diferença entre a forma de como é demonstrada e exercida.
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ReplyDeleteThere is a "disjuncture" in the first part of the poem as Ginsberg defines the best minds, the best intelligent minds, of his generation as not fitted for university when that is supposedly the place for the best minds to be at. This is because Ginsberg's definition of best minds differs from what the academies would define as such: these best minds are the creative, boundarie-breaking kind. (hence the "crazy") The expression "scholars of war" refers to the old, traditional power structure of the academy since those who ran them took part in the developments of the Cold War. Ginsberg's (and everyone in the beat generation) affiliation with such institution would definitely involve ethical compromises and a clash of ideologies.
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