Howl

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1956

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Travel

Ginsberg portrays travel as a mental and physical journey toward freedom. Travelers in “Howl” journey on public transportation and by foot to destinations often unknown; these trips involve drug use and altered states of being. In Part 1, Ginsberg describes travel by those “who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride […] on benzedrine […]” (Line 14), and others “who sank all night in submarine light […]” (Line 15). Beat poets often engaged in drug use to fuel the search for meaning, thus using drugs as a key for unlocking truth while mentally and physically journeying (“tripping” on drugs to seek clarity). Both of the above-mentioned verses underscore the travel motif as a feverish dreamscape filled with drugs and oppressive elements, yet it’s also an environment people willingly traverse while searching for authentic truth and unfettered freedom.

“Howl” also emphasizes the journey itself rather than the destination: “[those] who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts / who lit cigarettes in boxcars boxcars boxcars racketing through snow […]” (Lines 22-23), suggesting the experience, the search for meaning, often outweighs the destination—especially since the destination isn't often known, or since the destination sometimes leads to institutionalization (mental illness), demonization (traditional views against gay love), or what Ginsberg considers assimilation (past lovers or love interests embracing marriage and heteronormative relationships).

One of the most enigmatic depictions of travel appears at the end of Part 3: “in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door of my cottage in the Western night” (Line 131). With the last line, Ginsberg uses Carl Solomon as a symbol of freedom and truth. Solomon is in Rockland hospital, yet Ginsberg dreams that his friend is free. His freedom takes the form of a journey, traveling from darkness (Rockland) to light (Ginsberg’s cottage). Solomon’s tears also symbolize an exorcism of sorts, as tears symbolically represent sadness or happiness, as well as shedding both something physical (the tears themselves) and mental (emotions).

Visions

Visions serve as both symbol and motif in “Howl.” These harbingers most notably occur with the vision of Moloch in Part 2 and the vision of Carl Solomon at the end of Part 3. Ginsberg’s drug-induced vision of Moloch allows him to see the US for what it truly is: a ravenous false god demanding endless sacrifice. Part 2 details the destructive nature of Moloch by equating it to the machinelike indifference of capitalism. For Ginsberg, capitalism destroys those who serve it. Capitalism becomes a dangerous religion/belief system for people who must either further the destruction or perish from it. Ginsberg, again on drugs, had a vision in which he saw Moloch appear on the façade of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. This eerie vision is responsible for Part 2. Part 3’s vision of Carl Solomon, who appears free and crying after a journey, symbolizes freedom from Moloch/capitalism. Solomon’s escape and journey underscore individual choice and freedom.

In 1948, Ginsberg had a meaningful vision of William Blake (1757-1827) reciting poetry. Ginsberg references this important event in “Howl” as “[…] Blake-light tragedy […]” (Line 6). He interpreted this vision as a symbol of higher truth because, for Ginsberg, Blake communicated through time to enlightened individuals, meaning poetry has an important place in disseminating authentic knowledge. He also used this vision as an affirmation to himself and others that his poetry was visionary and vital (Clark, Tom. “Allen Ginsberg, The Art of Poetry No. 8.” The Paris Review, Spring 1966. Accessed 28 July 2021.) Ginsberg mentions other visions in other poems, rendering visions as a motif that influences his body of work as a whole.

Mental Illness

Beat writers did not shy away from including personal experiences in their creations. Ginsberg includes his mother’s, his own, and Carl Solomon’s experiences with mental illness in the pages of “Howl.” By including a topic some see as taboo and others view as too personal to generalize, Ginsberg speaks to a larger issue in US society: how systems of government marginalize those it deems outside of “normal.” Ginsberg freely speaks about mental illness because he views it both as nothing of which to be ashamed and as something exacerbated by a careless medical system. Ginsberg also blames Moloch/capitalism for destroying “the best minds” (Line 1), thus explicitly blaming US policies for making people unwell and capitalizing from their bodies at the expense of their minds.

Ginsberg, too, had a personal stake in addressing mental illness. He authorized his mother’s lobotomy, and she died while in a mental institution. The guilt from this decision purportedly haunted Ginsberg. He addresses his mother’s schizophrenia and institutionalization in “Howl”: “with mother finally ******,” (Line 71), stating that she’s one more victim of Moloch (though Ginsberg authorized her lobotomy, her doctors were the ones who suggested it as a way to help her). He dives further into mental illness and its symbolism in “Kaddish,” a poem written as a prayer of mourning for his mother.