This essay explores the famous poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1945-1955 entitled Howl, also known as Howl for Carl Solomon, and more specifically how it uses and describes the theme of religion. within this poem. Ginsberg was a Buddhist who studied Eastern religious disciplines. It is therefore not surprising that religion plays a role in his works such as Howl. This essay will acknowledge the important role religion plays in Howl and the impact it has on its readers, argue that Ginsberg was a "mystical" poet, and also argue that the use of this theme was ultimately intended to challenge orthodox and traditional religion itself. as Ginsberg is widely known for stirring controversy and challenging social norms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay To offer a little more context and specification: Ginsberg, while he could most likely be considered a religious poet, might be even more distinctly considered a mystic. poet. A mystic is defined as a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, such as through direct communication with divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy. Ginsberg challenges traditional dogma, wanting to commune with a higher power. He explores this by humanizing divine concepts. This can be seen in line 89 of Howl: "They broke their backs lifting Moloch into heaven!" Sidewalks, trees, radios, tons! raising to Heaven the city that exists and is everywhere around us! Moloch is the name of an ancient Hebrew god, seen in scripture. It essentially supports the concept of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), while expressing the idea that Heaven is not superior to humans and implies that Heaven is everywhere around us. To further emphasize this point, Ginsberg marries and associates religion with politics, a clearly banal concept. with higher power. This is present in line 107: "I am with you in Rockland where you accuse your doctors of insanity and plot Hebrew socialist revolution against national fascist Golgotha." The poet associates the political concept of socialism with Judaism and, conversely, fascism and nationalism are associated with Golgotha: the site of Christ's death. One of the most explicit arguments that Ginsberg is a mystical poet is found in line 24 "who studied Plotinus Poe". Telepathy of Saint John of the Cross and bop kabbalah because the cosmos instinctively vibrated at their feet in Kansas. Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism and St. John of the Cross was a Christian mystical writer. Ginsberg does not appear to display a large amount of in-depth knowledge regarding religious traditions, but rather is specifically interested in believers of the most radical concepts of various faiths. Ginsberg also takes a more abstract approach seen in line 20, "which disappeared into nowhere zen New Jersey, leaving a trail of ambiguous postcards of Atlantic City Hall." Ginsberg appears to suggest that New Jersey is Zen: a concept seen in Buddhism, while questioning orthodox Buddhism by implying that Zen is "nowhere." This makes the reader wonder if the poet truly has faith in a form of religion or if he simply believes in a general higher power. Ginsberg creates a parallel between himself as a mystical poet and other mystics in line 25 by referring to spiritual Native Americans: "who walked it ».