Lowell takes a long, cold look at himself, his art, his life, and his longing to break free of the chains that bind him to the past, and then reveals himself in "Skunk Hour." If we look for Lowell in every stanza, we see that he has immortalized himself in this confessional poem he chose to place at the end of his Life Studies. Does it provide a satisfactory resolution to the poems of the book? I believe that it does when you see that this poem is the most candid revelation of Lowell's life in the series.
In the first stanza Lowell writes of an aristocratic, possibly crazy with old age, lonely woman who lives in her "Spartan cottage" on Nautilus Island. Lowell is an aristocrat: he's very familiar with being an island-type figure in the world of poetry and in society as well. Throughout Life Studies he has shown us the details of being from a very well known family, the lonliness he felt when his uncle was dying, the embarrassment his father caused him, and the difficult assessment in "Waking in the Blue" of having a mental disorder. All these aspects of his life have a degree of isolation involved.
The details of the woman that follow in the second stanza speaks of one who "thirsts" for the old days, the past, the "has-beens". Lowell fears that this describes him as a poet in his earlier years, and attempts to break away from meter and rime, although in "Skunk Hour" we find he is still riming some of his lines; however, these are not conventional rimes. It is more open-verse compared to his earlier writings. The yawl that he references was auctioned off could represent that spiffy, harmonious and sharp style that he is giving up now in order to embrace the poetry that the Beat poets were writing. The red fox stain, perhaps "blood," is the residue remaining of killing off of poetry as he knew it.
The "fairy decorator" refers to the changes that are being made to his place of comfort. The gaudy orange represents the "in your face" style of Ginsberg and his peers, and their lack of reverence for artistic poetry material. Lowell is telling us about his work, his shop, the sharp awl that is used to place holes in a material. Lowell's style is becoming like the awl: he is writing personal information for the world to read, and in doing so he is puncturing himself to allow the real Lowell to flow.
The next stanza, "One dark night," is about voyeurism. As he describes spying on lovers making out in their cars, he is really talking about his own voyeurism realized as he writes of his family in the previous poems. He doesn't just look at them, though, he writes about them. One could argue that he has taken a voyeurs approach to looking at himself and writing what he sees. He concludes "My mind's not right." This is definitely true for Lowell.
In the following stanza what stands out is his statement: "I myself am hell." Another confessional statement about Lowell himself - his life is hell. Hell is a place of punishment and Lowell struggled with feelings of guilt and inadequacy as he tries to live up to the standards of the family legacy.
At last! The varmint. Skunks marching up Main Street with their white stripes and red eyes underneath the church. Lowell, as skunk, dares to take up the sacred hymnal of the church (poetry) and defile it by writing against the standards, against conventional poetry, no longer respecting the poets of years gone by. He thinks he stinks as a poet with his new style, but march on to the new, contemporary swell of the poetry of his peers.
The last stanza he stands on the back steps, his own backyard and breathes the rich air. Is it rich with skunk stench? The skunk goes about her business oblivious of the voyeur and standing her ground - "will not scare." The skunk/the poet will not be frightened away by the onlooker. She remains strong in her survival. Lowell is attempting to survive; he will not give in to those who criticize his work. He will continue to look through his own life, his garbage can, for sustenance.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Howling against the Machine
Picture a lone wolf on a mountain peak at dawn's break with a few Fading Stars applauding the howling creature. Alone, yet in time and space. Crying out to whomever will listen. A soul-piercing howl that continues.
"Howl" is Allen Ginsberg as "Wolf on a Mountaintop." It is a celebration of his life as well as the lives of his contemporaries whose lifestyles were non-conventional and controversial. It is a poem written to be read aloud; Ginsberg uses base words such as "who," "Moloch," and "I'm with you in Rockland" repetitively which provide cohesiveness, rhythm, and style to "Howl." The first section is a lengthy assertion of a life that has traveled many places, with many people, in altered states of consciousness - exalting heterosexual and homosexual experiences with a frankness that was considered by some obscene. The second and third section name the enemy and provide insight into madness.
Ginsberg gives voice to those "best minds of my generation" as he profusely elaborates on their collective experiences as they traveled all over the world, seeking transcendence spiritually and via illegal drugs, all the while suffering from the oppression of life. Ginsberg is painstaking in his deliberate effusion of strings of words depicting horrific injustices, disturbing existences, and struggles that pull at the nerves of the audience as they try to grasp the magnitude of aversion expressed by the speaker. In this section it is the WHO that Ginsberg is focused on; the majority of the stanzas begin with "who." He also details "where" with so many differing places listed. This sets up the narrative and tone of the poem.
Ginsberg wrote the third section after the first, and then followed with the second stanza. Consider how smooth the transition is from the end of section one to the salutation: "Carl Solomon!" Here he expounds on madness which he claims in the opening line of the poem destroyed the best minds of his generation. Ginsberg continues to live at Rockland even though now it is only in his mind. Solomon is the vehicle/machine/device that allows this possibility for Ginsberg while maintaining some form of respectability while he lives in San Francisco. Ginsberg longs for the freedom the mental institution provided for total unrestricted expression of madness without judgement. His descriptions of Solomon are likely autobiographical (some of these like playing the piano are documented as Ginsberg's actions) and exaggerated. The expressions of section three are his definitions of madness which has claimed victims in Ginsberg's life from childhood until his late twenties, not excluding himself. It could be said that Ginsberg exalts the condition of madness here.
In section two Ginsberg names the enemy: Moloch. Moloch is responsible for all he deems wrong for society, for his generation, for his country. Moloch as capitalism, as sacrifice, as machine, as industrialism, as government, as heartless judge of man: Moloch is the epitome of evil. Why is this necessary for the poem? As a poet Ginsberg must name the demon that haunts him or else his poetry fails. By naming Moloch the killer of souls, imagination, and generations, Ginsberg assumes power over it. His revelation to society will raise their awareness and give them an opportunity to save themselves. Therefore, in section three Ginsberg gives the anticipation of freedom to the lost. It is the lost whom he writes about: the rest have a Savior.
"Howl" is Allen Ginsberg as "Wolf on a Mountaintop." It is a celebration of his life as well as the lives of his contemporaries whose lifestyles were non-conventional and controversial. It is a poem written to be read aloud; Ginsberg uses base words such as "who," "Moloch," and "I'm with you in Rockland" repetitively which provide cohesiveness, rhythm, and style to "Howl." The first section is a lengthy assertion of a life that has traveled many places, with many people, in altered states of consciousness - exalting heterosexual and homosexual experiences with a frankness that was considered by some obscene. The second and third section name the enemy and provide insight into madness.
Ginsberg gives voice to those "best minds of my generation" as he profusely elaborates on their collective experiences as they traveled all over the world, seeking transcendence spiritually and via illegal drugs, all the while suffering from the oppression of life. Ginsberg is painstaking in his deliberate effusion of strings of words depicting horrific injustices, disturbing existences, and struggles that pull at the nerves of the audience as they try to grasp the magnitude of aversion expressed by the speaker. In this section it is the WHO that Ginsberg is focused on; the majority of the stanzas begin with "who." He also details "where" with so many differing places listed. This sets up the narrative and tone of the poem.
Ginsberg wrote the third section after the first, and then followed with the second stanza. Consider how smooth the transition is from the end of section one to the salutation: "Carl Solomon!" Here he expounds on madness which he claims in the opening line of the poem destroyed the best minds of his generation. Ginsberg continues to live at Rockland even though now it is only in his mind. Solomon is the vehicle/machine/device that allows this possibility for Ginsberg while maintaining some form of respectability while he lives in San Francisco. Ginsberg longs for the freedom the mental institution provided for total unrestricted expression of madness without judgement. His descriptions of Solomon are likely autobiographical (some of these like playing the piano are documented as Ginsberg's actions) and exaggerated. The expressions of section three are his definitions of madness which has claimed victims in Ginsberg's life from childhood until his late twenties, not excluding himself. It could be said that Ginsberg exalts the condition of madness here.
In section two Ginsberg names the enemy: Moloch. Moloch is responsible for all he deems wrong for society, for his generation, for his country. Moloch as capitalism, as sacrifice, as machine, as industrialism, as government, as heartless judge of man: Moloch is the epitome of evil. Why is this necessary for the poem? As a poet Ginsberg must name the demon that haunts him or else his poetry fails. By naming Moloch the killer of souls, imagination, and generations, Ginsberg assumes power over it. His revelation to society will raise their awareness and give them an opportunity to save themselves. Therefore, in section three Ginsberg gives the anticipation of freedom to the lost. It is the lost whom he writes about: the rest have a Savior.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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