Published in 1956 during the height of the first cold war, Ginsberg's poem America serves as a platform from which to attack the policies of the United States. The poem serves not only to attack the American-Soviet conflict itself, presenting it as nonsensical and childish, but it also hints at the internal conflict suffered by Ginsberg, as his opinion regarding his nation seems greatly in conflict with his identity as an American.
In America, Ginsberg mimics a childish or ill-educated manner of speaking, opting to use phrases such as ' them Russians' to hint at a level of stupidity on belhalf of those engaging in the cold war. He also highlights the way in which America's anti-communist stance resulted in domestic repression, however this is presented very much in the form of a warning, through juxtaposing instances of miscarriages of justice such as the Sacco and Vanzetti case, with references to communism. Through citing examples of injustice from thirty years previous rather than mentioning a case like that of the Rosenburgs, for example, Ginsberg is able to hint at the levels of discrimation which continued to undepin American society, and at the injustice and prejudice present in the judicial system; something which had failed to evolve during the first half of the twentieth century. Through his usage of historical rather than contemporary examples, Ginsberg subtely emplores his nation and the reader to let these miscarriages of justice serve as a cautionary tale, and not to let his country become a nation of injustice, rather than one of freedom.
One question I would like to raise regarding the readings is:
What is the impact does the presentation of Ferlinghetti's poems on the page have upon the reader?
3 comments:
I was impressed by your deeper readings into the phonetic intricacies of Ginsberg's "America". The emotional charge of the piece is so piercing and so unflinchingly honest in all of Ginsberg's raw, vitriolic passion aimed at our nation that it is often overlooked how precise the language he chooses to use is, while, at the same time, giving the feel of something jazzy and improvisational. I would argue, however, that Ginsberg's voice is as quintessentially American as any "Joe six-pack" (hate to use the term) whose mentality about our national impulses and dreams he might be alluding to in the poem itself.
I agree - the improvisational quality of "Howl," especially, make it really effective as a performance piece. And performance, as we know, is a really effective political form...
K, I'm really interested in this idea of the past as cautionary tale - very nice observation. This is classic Ginsberg, and no doubt, a large result of his education. Actually, many of the Beats (Rexroth, Everson, others) looked to history - we're talking history of the world - for wisdom. I think this move has a lot to do with the fact that they were trying to define a San Francisco sensibility, so they looked for past models...
In a lot of ways, this is what we're doing in the class - trying to understand San Francisco today, in the context of its historical development.
You bring up some good examples of the serious nature of Ginsberg's America. Often I have seen the poem read as merely a comic take on a serious situation. In some ways, the poem is quite hilarious, but it's important to note that Ginsberg uses this humor to address a multitude of very serious themes. I thought it was interesting that you said that Ginsberg mimics a childish manner of speech, especially the "Ugh. Him make Indians learn read" parts. It made me think about how the narrative voice throughout the poem changes voices, from serious, to comical, to surreal/mystical to facetiously ignorant etc.
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