Desire in Allen Ginsberg’s Poems "Kaddish" and "Howl"

Desire is explored and represented through the form and style in Ginsberg’s poems, “Kaddish”, and “Howl”. Desire is ubiquitous, it is the essence of wanting or yearning for something, or someone, it has limitless objects. The longing for a person to be with us or for an inanimate object, whether it be a car, a house, a shoe, or the yearning for an achievement, a goal, or a result. Ginsberg in his poems portrays an intellectual form of desire, the desire for change, knowledge, and the desire to belong. This response will look at two of Ginsberg’s poems, “Kaddish” and “Howl”. Both these poems portray the significant theme of desire and the acceptable desire during its time. This essay will aim to demonstrate how desire is shaped by society's ideology and subjectivity in relation to Ginsberg’s mentioned poems. I will, firstly, look at the kinds of desire both “Kaddish” and “Howl” explore. Secondly, I will demonstrate how Ginsberg in both poems represents desire. Both, “Kaddish”, and “Howl”, through their style, language, and techniques portray the desire that Ginsberg longs for.

Analysis of "Kaddish"

“Kaddish”, is one of Ginsberg’s famous and emotional poems written for his mother from 1957 to 1959, following the death of his mother in 1956. Through the use of style and language, “Kaddish” explores Ginsberg’s desire for his mother and the longing for her presence. In the poem, Ginsberg reconnoitres his relationship with his mother as well as his family in general. Growing up, Ginsberg witnessed his mother’s deteriorating mental health, as he watched her surrender to a number of psychotic occurrences that eventually took over her life. “Kaddish” explores how his mother’s mental illness affected him and his family life and in turn influenced him in his writing.

Analysis of "Howl"

“Howl” is another poem by Ginsberg that explores the themes of desire through his writing style and language. Ginsberg wrote “Howl” from 1954 to 1955. “Howl” is a social commentary on mid-20th-century America and can be served as a revolutionary manifesto. “Howl” is one of Ginsberg’s complex works that reflects the lives of people who go against social and ideological norms. The poem is divided into three parts, the first part is a dedication “For Carlo Solomon”, a friend he met in the mental institution, a narrative of the Beat generation. The second part of the poem deals with social and political structures of 1950’s America and challenging institutional authority which he symbolizes as “Moloch”. The last part of the poem, Ginsberg directly speaks to Carl Solomon, highlighting that he is there for him.

Desire and Ideological Constraints

Ginsberg in both “Kaddish” and “Howl”, analyses and criticizes a variety of America’s mid-20th-century ideologies that shaped its society. Bennett and Royle suggest, “every literary text is in some way about desire…. however, is not to suggest that it is everywhere and always the same desire” (Bennett & Royle, 2004). Although “Kaddish” and “Howl” both present desires that were unacceptable to America’s 1950’s social norm, in “Howl”, homosexuality and in “Kaddish” the mental illness of his mother. Both these poems are about desire but the desire is different. The language of “Howl” is an example of an unacceptable desire, the raw and sexual images are Ginsberg’s way of breaking normal conventions. The explicit language in “who let themselves be fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy”. As highlighted by Bennett and Royle who affirm that according to Lacan and Freud, desire is not fixed and always shifting, and mobile, furthermore, “desire is defined by ideological arguments about what society deems appropriate”.

Social Norms and Individual Constraints

This is evident in both, “Kaddish”, “Strange now to think of you, gone without corsets & eyes, while I walk on the sunny pavement of Greenwich village” (Ginsberg, 36). Furthermore in, “Howl”, “I’m with you in Rockland 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”. The desire presented in both, “Howl”, and “Kaddish” is shaped by ideologies that constrain the individual.

Breaking from Accepted Ideologies

In “Howl”, Ginsberg talks about the desires to belong and the desire to fit into society, he also desires to challenge the social norms of mid-20th-century America. He celebrates the desires that were regarded in 1950’s America as taboo. Desire in “Howl” adopts an ideological approach, as he questions what desires fit into social norms and can be voiced, this is highlighted by, “who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts”. This quote furthers Ginsberg’s observation of ideologically improved desires. Similarly, “Kaddish”, as well tries to break away from the acceptable ideologies at the time, by revealing his mother’s mental illness in a way that is completely raw and unrestrained, for example, “No love since Naomi screamed – since 1923? – now lost in Greystone ward – new shock for her – Electricity, following the 40 Insulin. And Metrasol had made her fat” (Ginsberg, 47). The desire to break away from accepted ideologies in mid-20th-century America is evident in Ginsberg’s both poems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both poems, “Howl”, and “Kaddish”, portray the acceptable desire in 1950’s American society. The social norms are pushed in both poems through the themes of homosexuality and the longing of the insane mother. Ginsberg, through the use of language, style, and techniques, highlights his desires. This paper portrays the way Ginsberg’s poetry explores that desire is shaped by ideologies and subjectivity, and the way individuals are constrained by these social norms.

References

Bennett, A., & Royle, N. (2004). Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. Pearson Longman.

Ginsberg, A. (1959). Kaddish and Other Poems. City Lights Books.

Ginsberg, A. (1956). Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Books.