Function of Profanity in Allen Ginsberg's Howl - Essay Example

The Function of Profanity in Allen Ginsberg’s Howl Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl uses some profanity, but not that much. The “f-word” (if being counted correctly) is only used twice. However, having a unique view on profanity—it’s very possible that: some of the language he uses is adult, not merely profane; Ginsberg is trying to make an aesthetically arresting poem; and some of the references he uses are to make the reader emote. The language in Allen Ginsberg’s Howl can, at times, be strong.

However, there is not so much profanity as there exists manifold references of fornication, illicit usage of controlled substances, and music—otherwise known as “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll,” to name the coined turn of phrase so often used in order to explain the hurrah that comes with fame, but can be experienced by the common man just as well. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll will always be offensive to someone—but profane, not necessarily. What may be profane to some people may not be profane to others.

And thusly, it is the knowledge that such work like the poem Howl that is called out for its profanity which makes one wonder—should Howl be regarded as ‘bad’? Just because people use profanity or obscene imagery, that does not necessarily make them ‘bad,’ to be brief. Good people sometimes do bad or wrong things, but to judge a person’s entire poem on the fact that it does use profanity or obscene imagery is like judging a book by its cover, and not by its content. On the surface, it may seem like Ginsberg is being irreverent, flying in the face of authority, flouting the law.

How dare he! Yes, how dare he make such wonderfully-constructed allusions—whilst all the while masterfully weaving allusions from the Crucifixion and jazz (with an “eli eli lamma sabacthani” saxophone wail) as well as drug paraphernalia (cigarettes, booze, “junk”) altogether at once in the same poem, talking about Islam (“Mohammedan angels”), and Communism (the hymn of “Internationale”). There are so many allusional references, in fact, that it would take hours just to digest each stanza of the poem in its entirety.

Instead, one or two thorough readings suffice in order to understand, plainly, that this poem is an absolute work of genius because of the mere details given. That is what makes this such an outstanding poem. Allen Ginsberg is definitely trying to project an image on several fronts. The “mustard gas of sinister intelligent editors” illuminates the fact that editors are there to cut a writer’s work to shreds.1 Any good writer who is not necessarily a “team placer” with their editing team will be the first to admit that he or she detests editors, for the most part—even if they have no personal beef with a particular editor that edits his or her work.

The bane of every writer is to meticulously plumb the depths of his or her soul for the perfect words, only to have them torn apart by an editor, who sifts through the verbiage for clarity of meaning and consistent and exemplar grammar—rooting out the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Ginsberg uses language in this poem to make the reader emote about the experiences, people, and places he is describing—which are as vast as his elephantine vocabulary. Allen Ginsberg effectively uses profanity, aesthetics, and language in order to give Howl a shock value that is greater than lightning striking, to a beneficial effect.

Indeed, Ginsberg’s poem Howl fully utilizes and maximizes all of the loveliness and ugliness about life and love—extensively remastering how geography, time, place, action, and life experience can be juxtaposed so wonderfully into one poem. WORKS CITED Ginsberg, Allen. Howl. Retrieved 11 May 2011. Available: .