homework by allen ginsberg

PoetryVerse

Allen Ginsberg

If I were doing my Laundry I'd wash my dirty Iran I'd throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap, scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle, I'd wash the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib & Gulf of Mexico, Rub that smog off the North Pole, wipe up all the pipelines in Alaska, Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos, Flush that sparkly Cesium out of Love Canal Rinse down the Acid Rain over the Parthenon & Sphinx, Drain the Sludge out of the Mediterranean basin & make it azure again, Put some blueing back into the sky over the Rhine, bleach the little Clouds so snow return white as snow, Cleanse the Hudson Thames & Neckar, Drain the Suds out of Lake Erie Then I'd throw big Asia in one giant Load & wash out the blood & Agent Orange, Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state, & put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean

Feel free to be first to leave comment.

• Solved Answers
• CBSE Prose XII
• Anglo Saxon Literature
• Pablo Neruda
• Rudyard Kipling
• Maya Angelou
• Matthew Arnold
• William Blake
• William Butler Yeats
• William Shakespeare
• William Wordsworth
• Rabindra Nath Tagore
• Robert Browning
• Robert Frost
• Indonesian High School Poems
• Indonesian University Poems

Summary and Analysis of Homework by Allen Ginsberg: 2022

Introduction to the  poet:.

Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet born on 3 rd June, 1926 at Newark, New Jersey, U.S as the son of an English teacher and Russian expatriate . He was one of the leading figures of the  Beat Generation  of the 1950s and the  counterculture that would soon follow. He vigorously opposed  militarism ,  economic materialism  and  sexual repression . One of the most influential writers of his time known as Beat Generation, he exemplified various aspects of the counterculture, such as his views on drugs, hostility to  bureaucracy  and openness to  Eastern religions . He came into the spotlight after the publication of “Howl and Other Poems” in 1956. “Howl” was a poem in the tradition of  Walt Whitman , and a protest of outburst and despair against a destructive, abusive society.The ‘Kaddish’ is one of his purest poem and he soon rose to fame. He undertook non violent protest against everything from Vietnam War to War of Drugs. There had been controversies against his homosexual relationship with many men, specifically his lifelong partner,   Peter Orlovsky . In 1986 Ginsberg was awarded the Golden Wreath by the  Struga Poetry Evenings  International Festival in Macedonia, the second American poet to be so awarded since W. H. Auden. He died surrounded by family and friends in his  East Village  loft in New York City, succumbing to  liver cancer  via complications of  hepatitis , on 5th April, 1997.

The poem “Homework” by Allen Ginsberg is a metaphorical poem speaking about the socio-political background, the economy, the corruption and various issues that surrounded the nations in that period. This poem reflects much upon the poet’s thought and his continuous anti – violent movements. Through his words and the strength of his writing, this poem distinctly reflects on the serious socio-political, economical, environmental, military unrests that the nations were facing.

Setting of Homework:

The poem is set at a period when the poet had been occupied with the Vietnam War. From United Nations to Iran, Africa, Asia were facing issues of corruption, war, sociological, political, military innuendo. The dramatic changes in the international front, the troublesome and disturbing situation that the world was facing were his concern. Though it seems that the poet was doing his laundry at his home, this poem actually concerned about the events of the nations. The poem, in it’s most wonderful form is a critical mockery with an increasingly developed willingness to bring forth goodness among various nations.

Style of Homework:

The poem is written in free verse.

Poetic devices in Homework:

Alliteration : “Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos.”  as the author repeats the ‘ub’ sound in “Rub a Dub Dub” is an alliteration used in the poem. Onomatopoeia: “Rub a dub dub” is an onomatopoeia used. Assonance : In the first stanza, “If ….Iran”  as he repeats the vowel I in  “If..I..I’d..Iran” assonance is used as a poetic device . Personification: “..squeeze out …state”  as Ginsberg gives the country a personal trait of being able to tell on other states when people have done wrong. Imagery: “I’d throw in …….in the jungle” as it gives us a visual of him cleaning the country and putting back animals and birds is yet an imagery. Hyperbole : Hyperbole is used repeatedly for exaggeration to indicate the urgency and desperation of situations: “Wash my dirty Iran” “Rub ……North Pole “ “Put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or Aeon till it came out clean”. Metaphor: The whole poem acts as a metaphor to awaken our consciousness by stating that the poet wants to cleanse the world like he is doing the laundry in a washing machine.

Summary of Homework:

The poem deals with massive message about the world’s nationwide changes. On the international front, the reforms and issues in the world that had been faced by the nations was the imminent concern of the poem. The poem starts with the poet wishing to wash Iran. The first line itself amazes us with the transformation from the domestic affairs to the national thought. Yet, when we move through the lines we realise it is not only Iran but also the United States  that he wants to clean. He is concerned about the environmental hazards that the generation have been facing. Thus, he wants to regain the environmental counterpoise, the old environmental equilibrium. That is why he says : “put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle,” He also wants to cleanse the phenomenal water bodies that had been subject to pollution. As a matter of fact, all the air pollution, soil pollution and water pollution, he wants to clean them up. Rocky Flats Plant was a former  nuclear weapons  production facility in the  western   United States and Los Alamos is a town in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States that is recognized as the birthplace of the first atomic bomb. The love canal was supposed to be  a short canal between the upper and lower Niagara Rivers , to provide electricity. However, it became a dumping ground later that exploded after few years . When he mentions these he wants to get rid of these disastrous weapons and the man made events that had been harming the countries for a destruction leading to environmental tragedies taking lives of people, cause births with defects and mis balance the environmental equilibrium, disastrously. The acid rain that destroyed Parthenon’s magnificent marble relief frieze panels, chemically transformed into soft gypsum or dissolved the marvelous structure of Sphinx at Egypt, made of limestone. The blue sky , the white snowy clouds , the clean Mediterranean basin , Thames, Lake Erie are all the wonderful things that the poet wants to recover. The disastrous pollution and the corruption is something the poet wants to get rid of. Agent Orange is an  herbicide  and  defoliant  chemical. It is widely known for its use by the  U.S. military  as part of its  herbicidal warfare  program,  Operation Ranch Hand during the  Vietnam War  . The poet wants to wash out the Agent orange, too, that harmed the people of Vietnam. The following stanzas focus on the way the poet wants to change the nations, their corruptions, the wars that are caused. He wants to put the whole planet ‘in a drier’, this means, he wants to obliterate all the hazards, socio-political issues, wars and bring back harmony and peace in the planet.

Central Idea of Homework:

The central idea of the poem deals with the conveying of a message of political, economical, and military unrest in the international realm. The poet speaks of the worldly hazard that the nations are facing, leading to destruction of nature in the hand of mankind. With the developing era, the age old destruction brought by mankind on Mother Earth is something the human species should be ashamed of. Further, the effort of him desiring to cleanse the world stands as a suitable example of what the mankind must focus on: not his domestic affair but for the betterment of the world, for future generation. The amount of destruction we did is worth mending and not be kept for worse. This poem gives one the magnanimous ideas about the massacre caused by the human, to this remarkable creation, Nature.

Critical Analysis of Homework:

The poem describes how the poet would metaphorically cleanse many problems of the world in a metaphorical washing machine. The poem displays a good deal of humour, and its socio political points are thought provoking. The poem emphasises on the socio-political and environmental problems that the world faces. From cleaning the Amazon or the polluted Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to the effort for maintaining the equilibrium of environment by putting back all the birds and elephants back in the jungle of Africa: the poet is trying to wash the pollution war and violence in the world. Throughout the poem, the various examples suggest that the poet is meaning to strike a chord in our heart making us aware of the ongoing torture that the world is confronting in the hands of mankind. He imbibes a sense in us how we, as humans, must be ashamed of our deeds that has put mother earth in such a devastating bearings. Through his act of cleaning he wants to launder the world and the whole poem stands as a metaphor to awaken us about our misdeeds on Mother Nature.

Tone of Homework:

The tone of the poem is more sincere that it initially seems to be. Though the first line states it is a poem that would be more of a domestic one soon we realise this poem has universal front. The tone from the beginning to the end is light hearted mixed with satires and a great sense of humiliation to the human species for our torture on Mother Earth. It acts as a metaphor for cleansing the world rather than being concerned about one’s domestic affair.

Typical to the style of the Beats Generation, this poem is an ideally unconventional poem pointing out to the world crisis , and stands supreme of the era. Contributor: Bidisha Das  

Some online learning platforms provide certifications, while others are designed to simply grow your skills in your personal and professional life. Including Masterclass and Coursera, here are our recommendations for the best online learning platforms you can sign up for today.

The 7 Best Online Learning Platforms of 2022

• Best Overall: Coursera
• Best for Niche Topics: Udemy
• Best for Creative Fields: Skillshare
• Best for Celebrity Lessons: MasterClass
• Best for STEM: EdX
• Best for Career Building: Udacity
• Best for Data Learning: Pluralsight

About the author

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Other related Posts

Subscribe to get latest update

Allen Ginsberg

Homage to Kenneth Koch

Other works by Allen Ginsberg...

Cool black night thru redwoods cars parked outside in shade behind the gate, stars dim above the ravine, a fire burning by the… porch and a few tired souls hunche…

Blandly mother takes him strolling by railroad and by river —he’s the son of the absconded hot rod angel—

Real as a dream What shall I do with this great o… What is the interpretation of this… if I can dream that I dream / and… I am awake / and why do that?

railroad yard in San Jose I wandered desolate in front of a tank factory and sat on a bench near the switchman’s shack.

Is that the only way we can become… like Quartz Crystals, like organi… Adam & Eve to’ve been, caressing… before the Snake of Revolutionary… The Tree of Knowledge? What woul…

O dear sweet rosy unattainable desire ...how sad, no way to change the mad cultivated asphodel, the

Tail turned to red sunset on a jun… Mad at Oryoki in the shrine—room… Put on my shirt and took it off in… A dandelion seed floats above the… At 4 A.M. the two middleaged men…

You’ll bare your bones you’ll grow… When the light appears, boy, when… You’ll sing & you’ll love you’ll p… When the light appears, boy, when… You’ll whimper & you’ll cry you’ll…

Elan that lifts me above the cloud… into pure space, timeless, yea ete… Breath transmuted into words Transmuted back to breath in one hundred two hundred years

America I've given you all and no… America two dollars and twenty-sev… I can't stand my own mind. America when will we end the human… Go fuck yourself with your atom bo…

In nineteen hundred forty-nine China was won by Mao Tse-tung Chiang Kai Shek’s army ran away They were waiting there in Thaila… Supported by the CIA

A lion met America in the road they stared at each other two figures on the crossroads in t… America screamed

Tonite I walked out of my red apartment door on East tenth street’s dusk— Walked out of my home ten years, walked out in my honking neighborhood Tonite at seven walked out past garba...

In the foreground we see time and… swept in a race toward the left hand side of the p… where shore meets shore. But that meeting place

At gauzy dusk, thin haze like ciga… ribbons past Chrysler Building’s… tapering delicately needletopped,… taller antenna filmed milky lit am… black and white apartmenting veil’…

• By Category
• • Allen Ginsberg

Homage Kenneth Koch

Comment form:

*Max text - 500. Manual moderation.

Similar Poems:

Allen Ginsberg

Homage to Kenneth Koch If I were doing my Laundry I'd wash my dirty Iran I'd throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap, scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle, I'd wash the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib & Gulf of Mexico, Rub that smog off the North Pole, wipe up all the pipelines in Alaska, Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos, Flush that sparkly Cesium out of Love Canal Rinse down the Acid Rain over the Parthenon & Sphinx, Drain the Sludge out of the Mediterranean basin & make it azure again, Put some blueing back into the sky over the Rhine, bleach the little Clouds so snow return white as snow, Cleanse the Hudson Thames & Neckar, Drain the Suds out of Lake Erie Then I'd throw big Asia in one giant Load & wash out the blood & Agent Orange, Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state, & put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean

• Farm Boy After Summer ( Robert Francis )

To be able to leave a comment here you must be registered. Log in or Sign up .

The best free cultural &

educational media on the web

• Online Courses
• Certificates
• Degrees & Mini-Degrees
• Audio Books

Allen Ginsberg’s “Celestial Homework”: A Reading List for His Class “Literary History of the Beats”

in Education , Poetry | May 20th, 2013 Leave a Comment

Click for larg­er image

“Argh, you’re all ama­teurs in a pro­fes­sion­al uni­verse!” roared Allen Gins­berg to a young class of aspir­ing poets in 1977 at the Jack Ker­ouac School of Dis­em­bod­ied Poet­ics . Their offense? Most of the stu­dents had failed to reg­is­ter for med­i­ta­tion instruc­tion. The sto­ry comes to us from Steve Sil­ber­man , who was then a 19-year-old stu­dent in that class­room and a recip­i­ent of Ginsberg’s genius that sum­mer.

Only three years ear­li­er, in 1974, Gins­berg and poet Anne Wald­man launched the Jack Ker­ouac School at Naropa Insti­tute (now Naropa Uni­ver­si­ty ), in Boul­der, Col­orado. The Institute—founded by Tibetan teacher Chö­gyam Trung­pa Rin­poche —was mod­eled on ancient Bud­dhist learn­ing cen­ters in India and described by Wald­man and poet Andrew Schelling as “part monastery, part col­lege, part con­ven­tion hall or alchemist’s lab.”

Gins­berg taught at Naropa until his death in 1997. The class in which he had his out­burst was called “Lit­er­ary His­to­ry of the Beats,” at the start of which he hand­ed his stu­dents a list called “Celes­tial Home­work” (first page above, sec­ond and third pages here and here ). Sil­ber­man describes the list thus (quot­ing from Gins­berg’s descrip­tion):

This “celes­tial home­work” is the read­ing list that Gins­berg hand­ed out on the first day of his course as “sug­ges­tions for a quick check-out & taste of antient scriven­ers whose works were reflect­ed in Beat lit­er­ary style as well as spe­cif­ic beat pages to dig into.”

It’s a par­tic­u­lar­ly Gins­berg-ian list, with a healthy mix of gen­res and peri­ods, most of it poetry—by Ginsberg’s fel­low beats, to be sure, but also by Melville, Dick­in­son, Yeats, Mil­ton, Shel­ley, and sev­er­al more. Sad­ly, it’s too late to sit at Gins­berg’s feet, but one can still find guid­ance from his “Celes­tial Home­work,” and you can even  lis­ten to audio record­ings from the class online too .

Sil­ber­man has done us all the great ser­vice of com­pil­ing as many free online ver­sions of Ginsberg’s rec­om­mend­ed texts as he could. You’ll find them all here , with author bios linked to each pho­to. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, some of the links have gone dead, but with a lit­tle bit of search­ing, you can work your way through most of Ginsberg’s list. Sil­ber­man reports anoth­er Gins­berg epi­gram from his 1977 class: “Poet­ry is the real­iza­tion of the mag­nif­i­cence of the actu­al.” The works on the “Celes­tial Home­work,” Sil­ber­man com­ments, “are gates to that mag­nif­i­cence.”

Relat­ed Con­tent:

Allen Gins­berg Reads His Famous­ly Cen­sored Beat Poem, Howl

Allen Gins­berg Record­ings Brought to the Dig­i­tal Age. Lis­ten to Eight Full Tracks for Free

W.H. Auden’s 1941 Lit­er­a­ture Syl­labus Asks Stu­dents to Read 32 Great Works, Cov­er­ing 6000 Pages

Josh Jones is a writer and musi­cian based in Wash­ing­ton, DC. Fol­low him @jdmagness

by Josh Jones | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Related posts:

Comments (0).

Be the first to comment.

Add a comment

Leave a reply.

Name (required)

Email (required)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Click here to cancel reply.

• 1,700 Free Online Courses
• 200 Online Certificate Programs
• 100+ Online Degree & Mini-Degree Programs
• 1,150 Free Movies
• 1,000 Free Audio Books
• 150+ Best Podcasts
• 800 Free eBooks
• 200 Free Textbooks
• 300 Free Language Lessons
• 150 Free Business Courses
• Free K-12 Education
• Get Our Daily Email

Free Courses

• Art & Art History
• Classics/Ancient World
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Engineering
• Environment
• Political Science
• Writing & Journalism
• All 1700 Free Courses

Receive our Daily Email

Free updates, get our daily email.

Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. We never spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Free Movies

• 1150 Free Movies Online
• Free Film Noir
• Silent Films
• Documentaries
• Martial Arts/Kung Fu
• Free Hitchcock Films
• Free Charlie Chaplin
• Free John Wayne Movies
• Free Tarkovsky Films
• Free Dziga Vertov
• Free Oscar Winners
• Free Language Lessons
• All Languages

Free eBooks

• 700 Free eBooks
• Free Philosophy eBooks
• The Harvard Classics
• Philip K. Dick Stories
• Neil Gaiman Stories
• David Foster Wallace Stories & Essays
• Hemingway Stories
• Great Gatsby & Other Fitzgerald Novels
• HP Lovecraft
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Free Alice Munro Stories
• Jennifer Egan Stories
• George Saunders Stories
• Hunter S. Thompson Essays
• Joan Didion Essays
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez Stories
• David Sedaris Stories
• Stephen King
• Golden Age Comics
• Free Books by UC Press
• Life Changing Books

Free Audio Books

• 700 Free Audio Books
• Free Audio Books: Fiction
• Free Audio Books: Poetry
• Free Audio Books: Non-Fiction

Free Textbooks

• Free Physics Textbooks
• Free Computer Science Textbooks
• Free Math Textbooks

K-12 Resources

• Free Video Lessons
• Web Resources by Subject
• Quality YouTube Channels
• Teacher Resources
• All Free Kids Resources

Free Art & Images

• All Art Images & Books
• The Rijksmuseum
• Smithsonian
• The Guggenheim
• The National Gallery
• The Whitney
• LA County Museum
• Stanford University
• British Library
• Google Art Project
• French Revolution
• Getty Images
• Guggenheim Art Books
• Met Art Books
• Getty Art Books
• New York Public Library Maps
• Museum of New Zealand
• Smarthistory
• Coloring Books
• All Bach Organ Works
• All of Bach
• 80,000 Classical Music Scores
• Free Classical Music
• Live Classical Music
• 9,000 Grateful Dead Concerts
• Alan Lomax Blues & Folk Archive

Writing Tips

• William Zinsser
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Toni Morrison
• Margaret Atwood
• David Ogilvy
• Billy Wilder
• All posts by date

Personal Finance

• Open Personal Finance
• Amazon Kindle
• Architecture
• Artificial Intelligence
• Comics/Cartoons
• Current Affairs
• English Language
• Entrepreneurship
• Food & Drink
• Graduation Speech
• How to Learn for Free
• Internet Archive
• Language Lessons
• Most Popular
• Neuroscience
• Photography
• Pretty Much Pop
• Productivity
• UC Berkeley
• Uncategorized
• Video - Arts & Culture
• Video - Politics/Society
• Video - Science
• Video Games

Great Lectures

• Michel Foucault
• Sun Ra at UC Berkeley
• Richard Feynman
• Joseph Campbell
• Jorge Luis Borges
• Leonard Bernstein
• Richard Dawkins
• Buckminster Fuller
• Walter Kaufmann on Existentialism
• Jacques Lacan
• Roland Barthes
• Nobel Lectures by Writers
• Bertrand Russell
• Oxford Philosophy Lectures

Sign up for Newsletter

Open Culture scours the web for the best educational media. We find the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.

Great Recordings

• T.S. Eliot Reads Waste Land
• Sylvia Plath - Ariel
• Joyce Reads Ulysses
• Joyce - Finnegans Wake
• Patti Smith Reads Virginia Woolf
• Albert Einstein
• Charles Bukowski
• Bill Murray
• Fitzgerald Reads Shakespeare
• William Faulkner
• Flannery O'Connor
• Tolkien - The Hobbit
• Allen Ginsberg - Howl
• Dylan Thomas
• Anne Sexton
• John Cheever
• David Foster Wallace

Book Lists By

• Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Ernest Hemingway
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Allen Ginsberg
• Patti Smith
• Henry Miller
• Christopher Hitchens
• Joseph Brodsky
• Donald Barthelme
• David Bowie
• Samuel Beckett
• Art Garfunkel
• Marilyn Monroe
• Picks by Female Creatives
• Zadie Smith & Gary Shteyngart
• Lynda Barry

Favorite Movies

• Kurosawa's 100
• David Lynch
• Werner Herzog
• Woody Allen
• Wes Anderson
• Luis Buñuel
• Roger Ebert
• Susan Sontag
• Scorsese Foreign Films
• Philosophy Films
• August 2024
• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• August 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• December 2014
• November 2014
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006

©2006-2024 Open Culture, LLC. All rights reserved.

• Advertise with Us
• Copyright Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

7+ Allen Ginsberg Poems

Allen Ginsberg was an American poet who was one of the primary leaders of the Beat Generation . His work opposed militarism and sexual repression and is often compared to other writers of the period like William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. His best-known poem, ‘Howl,’ denounced the forces of capitalism in the United States. Despite his role in the 1960s counterculture, Ginsberg is now regarded as a canonical American poet whose works helped bring poetry back into broader society.

Allen Ginsberg

‘Howl’ is Allen Ginsberg’s best-known poem and is commonly considered his greatest work. It is an indictment of modern society and a celebration of anyone living outside it.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,

Velocity Of Money

‘Velocity Of Money’ by Allen Ginsberg uses irony and satire to make a powerful critique on the forces of capitalism.

I’m delighted by the velocity of money as it whistles through the windows of Lower East Side Delighted by skyscrapers rising the old grungy apartments falling on 84th Street

A Supermarket in California

‘A Supermarket in California’ by Ginsberg seeks America’s essence and Whitman’s spirit amid consumerism’s glow.

What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon. In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!

A Western Ballad

Ginsberg’s ‘A Western Ballad’ explores love’s complexities through a non-traditional ballad, blending sorrow with enduring affection.

When I died, love, when I died my heart was broken in your care; I never suffered love so fair as now I suffer and abide

Allen Ginsberg’s ‘America’ deals with the turbulent times in America. It was written during and focused on the period after the Second World War.

America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. America two dollars and twentyseven cents January 17, 1956. I can’t stand my own mind. America when will we end the human war?

An Eastern Ballad

Ginsberg’s ‘An Eastern Ballad’ redefines ballads merging Eastern thought with a fresh take on the classic ballad form.

I speak of love that comes to mind: The moon is faithful, although blind;

Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Homework’ promotes reform while satirically addressing political upheaval and degradation of the environment.

If I were doing my Laundry I’d wash my dirty Iran I’d throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap,

Home » Allen Ginsberg Poems

Narrow Your Search

Experts in poetry.

Our work is created by a team of talented poetry experts, to provide an in-depth look into poetry, like no other.

Help Center

Request an Analysis

(not a member? Join now)

Poem PDF Guides

PDF Learning Library

Beyond the Verse Podcast

Poetry Archives

Poetry Explained

Poet Biographies

Useful Links

Poem Explorer

Poem Generator

[email protected]

Poem Solutions Limited, International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3NG, United Kingdom

Download Poetry PDF Guides

Complete Poetry PDF Guide

Perfect Offline Resource

Covers Everything You Need to Know

One-pager 'snapshot' PDF

Offline Resource

Gateway to deeper understanding

(and discover the hidden secrets to understanding poetry)

Get PDFs to Help You Learn Poetry

250+ Reviews

Get this Poem Analysis as an Offline Resource

Poetry+ PDF Guides are designed to be the ultimate PDF Guides for poetry. The PDF Guide contains everything to understand poetry.

'Homework' by Allen Ginsberg

Editor 1 interpretation, homework by allen ginsberg.

Have you ever read a poem that left you with more questions than answers? "Homework" by Allen Ginsberg is one such poem. First published in 1993, "Homework" is a thought-provoking piece that delves into themes of identity, freedom, and conformity.

In this 4000-word literary criticism and interpretation, we'll take a closer look at "Homework" and explore what makes it such a powerful and enduring work of poetry.

Overview of "Homework"

"Homework" is a relatively short poem, comprising just six stanzas of varying lengths. The poem is written in free verse, which means that it doesn't follow a specific rhyme or meter.

The title of the poem, "Homework," immediately sets the tone for what's to come. We all remember the sense of obligation that came with homework when we were in school. "Homework" takes that idea and expands it into a broader commentary on the nature of work and identity.

The poem begins with the speaker addressing an unknown person, telling them that they "must" do their homework. The tone is one of admonition, but it quickly becomes clear that there's more to the poem than just a simple command.

As the poem progresses, the speaker delves deeper into the idea of homework, using it as a metaphor for the demands that society places on us. The poem ends on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving the reader with more questions than answers.

Analysis of "Homework"

One of the most striking things about "Homework" is its use of repetition. The word "must" appears multiple times throughout the poem, emphasizing the sense of obligation that the speaker is trying to convey.

The repetition of the word "must" also serves to create a sense of urgency. The speaker is telling the unknown person that they must do their homework, as if there's a deadline that they can't afford to miss.

Another important element of the poem is its use of imagery. The speaker describes the homework as being "in the refrigerator," which is a somewhat unusual place to store school assignments. This creates a sense of surreality that underlies the entire poem.

The image of the homework in the refrigerator also suggests a sense of hiddenness. The homework is something that's not immediately visible or accessible, but it's still there, lurking in the background.

As the poem progresses, the speaker begins to use the idea of homework as a metaphor for the demands that society places on us. The line "the homework is to write a paper / about something you don't know anything about" suggests that we're often asked to do things that we're not prepared for.

This idea is further emphasized in the fourth stanza, where the speaker describes the homework as being "like a secret." The poem suggests that there are hidden expectations and demands that we're supposed to meet, even if we don't fully understand what they are.

Another important theme of the poem is the idea of conformity. The speaker tells the unknown person that they "must" do their homework, but what happens if they don't? What are the consequences of not meeting society's expectations?

The line "you must turn it in on time / or they will penalize you" suggests that there's a punishment for not conforming. This creates a sense of pressure and anxiety that's all too familiar to anyone who's struggled to meet the demands of the world around them.

The final stanza of the poem is perhaps the most ambiguous. The speaker tells the unknown person that they'll "get an A," but what does that mean? Is the A a reward for meeting the demands of society, or is it a meaningless symbol that doesn't truly reflect our worth as individuals?

The final line of the poem, "and you will be happy," is similarly open to interpretation. Does the happiness come from meeting the demands of society, or is it something that's more intrinsic and personal?

Interpretation of "Homework"

So, what can we take away from "Homework"? At its core, the poem is a commentary on the demands that society places on us, and the pressure to conform that comes with those demands.

The use of repetition and imagery creates a sense of urgency and surreality, emphasizing the idea that there are hidden expectations and demands that we're supposed to meet. The poem suggests that there's a punishment for not conforming, creating a sense of pressure and anxiety.

At the same time, the poem is somewhat ambiguous. The final stanza suggests that there might be rewards for meeting the demands of society, but it's unclear what those rewards actually mean. Is an A truly a reflection of our worth as individuals, or is it just a meaningless symbol?

Ultimately, "Homework" is a powerful and thought-provoking work of poetry that asks more questions than it answers. It's a poem that encourages us to think critically about the demands of the world around us, and to consider what it truly means to be happy and fulfilled.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Poetry Homework by Allen Ginsberg is a classic poem that has been studied and analyzed by literary enthusiasts for decades. The poem is a perfect example of Ginsberg's unique style of writing, which is characterized by his use of free verse, unconventional syntax, and vivid imagery. In this analysis, we will delve deep into the poem and explore its themes, structure, and literary devices.

The poem begins with the speaker addressing his teacher, who has assigned him poetry homework. The speaker is not happy about the assignment and expresses his frustration in the first few lines of the poem. He says, "I hate you, you're such a pain in the ass / I bet you're reading this poem right now / trying to figure out what I'm going to say next." This opening sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which is filled with sarcasm and rebellion.

The first stanza of the poem is a list of poets that the speaker is supposed to read for his homework. The list includes William Blake, John Keats, Percy Shelley, and T.S. Eliot, among others. The speaker's attitude towards these poets is dismissive, and he says, "I don't want to read these dead guys / I want to live my own life." This line is a reflection of the speaker's desire to break free from the constraints of tradition and create his own path.

The second stanza of the poem is where the speaker's rebellion becomes more apparent. He says, "I want to write my own poetry / I want to be a poet of the people / I want to write about the things that matter." This line is a reflection of the speaker's desire to use poetry as a tool for social change. He wants to write about the struggles of the working class, the injustices of the government, and the inequalities in society. This desire to use poetry as a means of social commentary is a recurring theme in Ginsberg's work.

The third stanza of the poem is where the speaker's frustration with his teacher reaches its peak. He says, "You don't know anything about me / You don't know what I've been through / You don't know what it's like to be me." This line is a reflection of the speaker's belief that his teacher is out of touch with his reality. The speaker feels that his teacher is trying to force him to conform to a certain mold, without understanding his unique experiences and struggles.

The fourth stanza of the poem is where the speaker's rebellion turns into a call to action. He says, "I'm going to write my own poetry / I'm going to be a voice for the voiceless / I'm going to speak truth to power." This line is a reflection of the speaker's belief that poetry can be a powerful tool for social change. He wants to use his poetry to give a voice to those who are marginalized and oppressed, and to challenge the status quo.

The fifth and final stanza of the poem is a reflection on the power of poetry. The speaker says, "Poetry is not just words on a page / Poetry is a weapon / Poetry is a way to change the world." This line is a reflection of the speaker's belief that poetry can be a powerful force for social change. He sees poetry as a tool for revolution, a way to challenge the status quo and bring about a better world.

In terms of structure, Poetry Homework is a free verse poem that is divided into five stanzas. The poem does not follow a strict rhyme scheme or meter, which is typical of Ginsberg's style. The lack of structure in the poem reflects the speaker's rebellious attitude towards tradition and his desire to break free from the constraints of conventional poetry.

One of the most striking literary devices used in Poetry Homework is the use of repetition. The phrase "I want to" is repeated several times throughout the poem, emphasizing the speaker's desire to break free from tradition and create his own path. The repetition of this phrase also creates a sense of urgency, as if the speaker is determined to make his voice heard.

Another literary device used in the poem is imagery. The speaker uses vivid imagery to convey his message and create a sense of urgency. For example, in the third stanza, the speaker says, "I'm tired of living in a world / where the rich get richer / and the poor get poorer." This line creates a powerful image of the inequalities in society and the speaker's desire to challenge them.

In conclusion, Poetry Homework by Allen Ginsberg is a powerful poem that reflects the speaker's rebellious attitude towards tradition and his desire to use poetry as a tool for social change. The poem is characterized by its use of free verse, repetition, and vivid imagery, which create a sense of urgency and emphasize the speaker's message. The poem is a testament to the power of poetry and its ability to challenge the status quo and bring about a better world.

Editor Recommended Sites

Recommended similar analysis.

Poems & Poets

Allen Ginsberg's Celestial Homework

We have our friends at the Paris Review blog to thank for pointing us to Open Culture where they've posted the celestial syllabus to Allen Ginsberg' s 1977 course at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics . A bit about the class:

“Argh, you’re all amateurs in a professional universe!” roared Allen Ginsberg to a young class of aspiring poets in 1977 at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Their offense? Most of the students had failed to register for meditation instruction. The story comes to us from Steve Silberman, who was then a 19-year-old student in that classroom and a recipient of Ginsberg’s genius that summer. [...] [The syllabus is] a particularly Ginsberg-ian list, with a healthy mix of genres and periods, most of it poetry—by Ginsberg’s fellow beats, to be sure, but also by Melville, Dickinson, Yeats, Milton, Shelley, and several more. Sadly, it’s too late to sit at Ginsberg’s feet, but one can still find guidance from his “Celestial Homework,” and you can even listen to audio recordings from the class online too.

There's mucho more Ginsberg over at Open Culture , so head over and check it out. We decided it might be fun to see how much our archive matches up to Ginsy's essentials. Click through below. And please, DO register for meditation instruction!

#56 Shakespeare: sonnets... many here

#57 Gingsberg: Kaddish

#50 Poe: To -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad , Annabel Lee , The Raven .

#45 Whitman: Song of Myself: 35 , Song of Myself: 36

#44 Blake: poems from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience , here .

#43 Snyder: The Bath

#36 Melville: The House-top , The Maldive Shark , The Portent , The Berg (A Dream) , The Martyr , Monody

#36 T.S. Eliot: The Waste Land , The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

#36 Wm. C. Williams: To Elsie , Smell! , Danse Russe , Thursday

#35 Emily Dickinson: I heard a Fly buzz , Because I could not stop for Death , Success is counted sweetest

#32 W.B. Yeats: The Second Coming

#31 Rimbaud: The Drunken Boat , Illuminations

#30 Keats: Ode on a Grecian Urn , Ode on Melancholy , Ode to a Nightingale

#28 R. Creeley: For Love

That's a good start, and only one celestial page of the whole document!

Home — Essay Samples — Education — Homework — Themes In Allen Ginsberg’s “Homework”

Themes in Allen Ginsberg's "Homework"

• Categories: Homework

About this sample

Words: 623 |

Published: Jun 13, 2024

Words: 623 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, body paragraph.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Education

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 1595 words

3 pages / 1225 words

1 pages / 591 words

2 pages / 851 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Homework

Homework has always been a divisive issue, with some arguing that it is a necessary part of the education system, while others view it as a burden that puts undue stress on students. However, despite the ongoing debate, it [...]

Homework has been a cornerstone of the educational system for centuries. It serves as a bridge between the classroom and home, providing students with the opportunity to reinforce what they have learned, practice new skills, and [...]

Homework has long been a contentious topic in education, with both parents and students debating its merits and drawbacks. From late nights spent hunched over textbooks to the stress of looming deadlines, the effects of homework [...]

In conclusion, there are compelling reasons why homework should be banned. Its negative impact on students' mental health, lack of evidence supporting its benefits, and potential for alternative approaches to promote learning [...]

Has the insatiable urge to shred to pieces a never-ending tsunami of words on paper ever seem familiar? The name given to this self afflicting torture is homework. Most students at least once wondered “how to study when you [...]

Every school in the world at one point has given their students homework on weekends and holiday breaks, and that isn’t fair to the students. Every year students must go to school 10 out of the 12 months in a year. Every week [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Get the Reddit app

A place for sharing published poetry. For sharing orignal content, please visit r/OCPoetry

[POEM] Homework by Allen Ginsberg

“Homework: Homage to Kenneth Koch"

If I were doing my Laundry I’d wash my dirty Iran

I’d throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap, scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle,

I’d wash the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib & Gulf of Mexico,

Rub that smog off the North Pole, wipe up all the pipelines in Alaska,

Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos, Flush that sparkly Cesium out of Love Canal

Rinse down the Acid Rain over the Parthenon & Sphinx, Drain Sludge out of the Mediterranean basin & make it azure again,

Put some blueing back into the sky over the Rhine, bleach the little Clouds so snow return white as snow,

Cleanse the Hudson Thames & Neckar, Drain the Suds out of Lake Erie

Then I’d throw big Asia in one giant Load & wash out the blood & Agent Orange,

Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state,

& put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean.

By Allen Ginsberg from Collected Poems, 1947-1980 (Harper and Row).

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Allen Ginsberg

Thursday, november 13, 2014, "homework" allen ginsberg.

“Homework” If I were doing my Laundry I’d wash my dirty Iran I’d throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap , scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle, I’d wash the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib & Gulf of Mexico,    Rub that smog off the North Pole, wipe up all the pipelines in Alaska,    Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos, Flush that sparkly Cesium out of Love Canal Rinse down the Acid Rain over the Parthenon & Sphinx, Drain Sludge out of the Mediterranean basin & make it azure again, Put some blueing back into the sky over the Rhine, ble ach the little Clouds so snow return white as snow, Cleanse the Hudson Thames & Neckar, Drain the Suds out of Lake Erie    Then I’d throw big Asia in one giant Load & wash out the blood & Agent Orange , Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state, & put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean. Title: Well, I’m going to be honest, the only real  analyzation I can get out of a first glance of this title is negative. Since its just one word, homework, I can guess that this poem is going to be about homework or something school related. Paraphrase: The speaker is explaining how he would clean the world. He would wash the United States and Iran to stop their unresting relationship. He would “scrub up Africa” to help with the the impoverished country. The speaker would rise down areas that have been environmentally burdened. He would take out the political unrest on China and Russia. He is aware of how long it will take, but his wish is to try. Connotation: Form: Different from the lengthy lines of Ginsberg, this poem still possesses free verse. There is no specific rhyme scheme. Diction: Blue text. Illustrates the extended metaphor. Imagery: Red text. Creates the illusion of a soiled world. Point of View: First person, the speaker is a concerned humanitarian, looking for help to clean the world. There is a lot of historical background strewn throughout this poem, therefore the speaker is knowledgeable and up to date on the problems in the world. Symbolism: Each piece of laundry symbolizes each country in need of cleaning. This specifically means that these countries possess unnatural or horrible circumstances that need to be changed. Figurative Language: Metaphor: there is obviously an extended metaphor that symbolizes the dirty world we lived in. It is “stained” and corrupted politically, economically and culturally. Repetition occurs throughout this poem to intensify the extended metaphor by using the word “wash.” Allusion is used to show the international relationships between countries, while also depicting the horrors of the world. Line 4, “I’d was the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib and Gulf of Mexico,” indicates the pollution and environmental distrust in the world. Another source of allusion is the Russia/China example because it illustrates the effects of the Cold War, while also adhering to the communist issue. Onimonopia is used in sentence 6 “rub a dub dub” indicating the sounds of scrubbing vigorously to get the stains out of the world. The last line indicates hyperbole, “Aeon till it came out clean,” to evoke the sense of longevity and excruciating work that must be done to fully clean up the earth. Attitude/tone/shifts: When I first read the poem, I expected there to be more anger and frustration. But as I read through the poem I realized that I was not reading anger, but instead I was reading idealistic dreams. “ If I were doing my Laundry” (1) depicts this perfectly, for nothing is actually happening, but helping the world would be the first thing to do on the speakers list. The poem is talking about cleaning the world until the last line, “let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon til it came out clean,” where there is the more realistic sense of the process of cleaning the world. It would not happen overnight, but instead, over a long period of time. Theme: Although we want to clean the world and rid it of its stains, it will take time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL7gUL0pw_0

0 Comments:

Post a comment.

Subscribe to Post Comments [ Atom ]

<< Home

View my complete profile

Previous Posts

• "America" Allen Ginsberg
• "Sunflower Sutra" Allen Ginsberg
• "My Sad Self" Allen Ginsberg
• "Howl" Allen Ginsberg

Subscribe to Posts [ Atom ]

This is a paragraph of text that could go in the sidebar.