The Use Of Vulgarity in the Works of Allen Ginsberg Essay -- Biograph

The Use Of Vulgarity in the Works of Allen Ginsberg The turn poets were the voice of a generation. Unadulterated honesty and truth is a special objective of the beat poets, and to them this honesty and truth is best achieved with a raw, ofttimes vulgar language that can recognize any(prenominal) contributors uncomfortable. In this selection from his book, Allen Ginsberg, Thomas Merrill comments on the truth exhibited by the poet ...such a commitment to subjective truth not only permits but demands the uninhibited confessions that tend to make conventional readers squirm. Many beat writers, especially Ginsberg, flaunt their most inner(a) acts and feelings...in an aggressive street language (2). In Ginsbergs collection of numberss, Reality Sandwiches, 1953-1960 , The reader gets a good taste of Ginsbergs mouth... which, as usual is uninhibitedly and often meretriciously honest (Merrill 88). The unabashed honesty in this collection often concerns end up and drugs, those sub jects being important for this generation of rebellion. In The Green Automobile, a poem about a fantasy road-trip enjoyed by Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, his one time lover, Ginsberg presents images of a sexual nature. Two of the images follow Id honk my horn at his man-sized gate, inside his wife and three children sprawl naked on the sustainment room floor. (Ginsberg, Reality Sandwiches 11) Neal, well be real heroes now in a war between our cocks and time (15) Even if some readers pay lilliputian attention to the allusions to homosexuality, one of the images, the one concerning Cassadys children, could make some readers uncomfortable. The imagery present is strong, it is this strength of imagery that ... ...s whimper and On Neals Ashes the vulgarities are used not merely for effect, but to truly convey the feeling he wishes to express. Although some are made to feel uncomfortable, the true nature of the poet is to convey feeling, and this is through with(p) in an extrem ely proficient manner. Works Cited Ginsberg, Allen. Reality Sandwiches 1953-1960. San Francisco City Lights Books, 1963. - - - . Howl. Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A.Poulin Jr.. capital of Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 175-182. - - - . America. Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A.Poulin Jr.. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 182-184. - - - . On Neals Ashes. Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A.Poulin Jr.. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 188. Merrill, Thomas. Allen Ginsberg. Boston Twayne, 1988.