The Fall of Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing Ideals in Allen Ginsberg's Howl

Abstract

Walt Whitman's poem I Hear America Singing celebrates the American ideals in the late 19^th century such as democracy, freedom, and the common people of the working class. Contrary to Whitman's poem, Allen Ginsberg's Howl protests the fall of the values and ideals celebrated in Whitman’s poem because of the new values of the mid-20^th century in America such as militarism, capitalism, materialism, and lack of self-expression. America and the Americans are represented in the works of these two poets contradictorily, therefore, this paper aims to depict the fall of the American ideals and values celebrated by Whitman's I Hear America Singing in Ginsberg's Howl. Walt Whitman displays an avid belief in the inherent goodness of humanity and the potential for societal improvement through collective consciousness. Nevertheless, Ginsberg's Howl acts as a stark departure from Whitman's ideals, portraying the disillusionment, loneliness, and hopelessness that pervaded post-World War II America. The significance of this thematic study lies in the analysis of the subtle changes in ideology that happened over a century. It investigates how poet's views on people, society, and the possibility of societal progress are shaped by the shifting periods and occurrences.