The third part of “Howl” is a chant of compassion by the poet. They experience visions and fantasies of pleasure and joy, but the reality around them is one of isolation, ignorance, suppression, and, eventually, their own deaths. People in this section let Moloch to take over their souls, building Moloch up only to be crushed by what they have created.

The speaker also discusses his loneliness, sexuality, and visions of angels, for which he is labelled as insane. Moloch is obsessed with money, war, and oppression, and he is made of concrete, metal, dirt, and despair. The second part of “Howl” is a diatribe against Moloch, a figure who represents everything that is wrong with the world, according to the speaker. (Ginsberg and Solomon met while both were patients at the Columbia Presbyterian Psychiatric Institute in 1949.) By the end of the part, the speaker confronts American writer Carl Solomon, for whom Ginsberg composed the poem, informing him that he is in the same situation, not safe, because he writes and acts directly from his soul, without any filter. Throughout this portion, there are graphic depictions of sex practises as well as a travelogue relating the poet’s globe search for a visionary experience and a deeper connection with universal forces. He describes their drug trips, which include a variety of narcotics, as well as their sexual adventures and spiritual connection to jazz music. The speaker tells stories about his companions’ quest for joy and transcendence despite their outsider status. He also discusses what occurs when people do not have anyplace to go, such as living beneath bridges, living in boxes, and hiding out in train yard boxcars. The speaker narrates their decline into insanity, poverty, and the tenements and “cold-water flats” in which they reside, if they can find any shelter at all.

The first part of “Howl” is an outpouring of wrath at the speaker’s friends and peers’ plight because society does not respect, ignores, or openly mocks their art. In fact, the obscenity trial increased the popularity of Howl and Ginsberg. Instead, the poem is thought to have literary as well as social merit. Horn, concluded that Howl is not obscene material after hearing from nine expert witnesses, including famous writers and scholars such as Mark Schorer and Kenneth Rexroth. As a result, Howl and Other Poems was ordered to be removed from the market (Raskin, 2004:211).ĭespite the improper content of the book, the trial judge, Clayton W. The poem depicts what are regarded as types of social deviance in American society: drug misuse, homosexuality, and other behaviours and utterances deemed unsuitable for public consumption. The use of vulgar language and the topic of the poem itself were two major elements that led to Howl being labelled as obscene material.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg