Satire and Mr. Ginsberg

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the poetry of a ‘Beat’ writer. Allen Ginsberg, in terms of its satiric content and to show the relationship between this poet and the brad field of satire. To achieve this goal I shall concentrate on two primary areas: the nature of satire as a literary genre and the poetry of Ginsberg. I shall attempt to demonstrate that there is a definite element of satire in his poetry, but that such satire is neither the most distinguishing characteristic of this poetry nor the highest order of satire. There are certain limitations to such a study. These include: the necessity of a slightly arbitrary definition of the area to be included under the term “satire,” the limited number of poems (especially satiric ones) available to investigation, and the absence of critical material dealing with Ginsberg as a poet and a satirist.