(1) Discuss the role of authoritarian power in Howl. How does Ginsberg buck authority in the work?
(2) In Howl, Ginsberg cites various cities spread throughout the United States. What role do these cities play in the work? Is Ginsberg’s vision an urbanized vision, or does it encompass rural settings as well?
(3) Write an essay in which you discuss whether or not the images in Howl are obscene. If the work were written today, would the government’s reaction to it be different? Why or why not?
(4) Contrast Ginsberg’s pessimism in Howl with Hart Crane’s ecstatic vision of America’s greatness in The Bridge.
(5) Contrast Ginsberg’s portrait “To Aunt Rose” with the lyric biography of Rita Dove’s Thomas and Beulah.
(6) Contrast the speaker of “America” with the speaker of Howl. Is one speaker more pessimistic than the other? If so, which speaker, and why?
(7) Chronicle the parallel growth of beat expression with imagism, impressionism, and modern verse.
