The present study examines Allen Ginsberg's poe7ryr, essays, and interviews from the point of view of two basic concepts, self and ecological consciousness. Through this approach the study both develops a concept of ecological consciousness that is based on Ginsberg's poetry, and. provides an illuminating understanding of that poetry. From that reading the present writer has identified five major characteristics of ecological consciousness. They are: 1. a consciousness of the oneness, wholeness, and mutual interdependence of all life; 2. a consciousness of tine ecological catastrophe present in the United States; 3. a consciousness and openness to the physical details of one's environment and one's self; 4. a consciousness of the mutual. interdependence of self and environment; 5.- a total rejection of American class society with its emphasis on competition, winning, success, hierarchy, superfluous work, and vicious power.The thesis of the study is that Ginsberg's poetry represents an ecologically sound effort to explore, accept, and disclose the self. His poetry serves as a model for both self-exploration and ecological consciousness. In fact, the present study suggests that ecological consciousness comes to exist only through self-exploration.The study follows in close detail Ginsberg's voyages into the self. The first chapter, "The Self Explored," charts the whole nature of the voyage by putting the self into perspective. This is done in two ways: by using the insights of psychologists, Abraham Maslow and Erich Fromm in particular, and by using the insights offered in Zen Buddhism through the essays of D. T. Suzuki, and insights about the self expressed in the Tao Te Ching. Chapter two, "Three Vows," attends to Ginsberg's political, visionary, and sexual selves as revealed in three vows that he has made. Chapter three, "Language and Self," presents a detailed examination of Ginsberg's use of language, particularly his openness to physical details and his extensive use of modification; this chapter also develops a relationship between his language characteristics on the one hand and self and ecological consciousness on the other. Chapter four, "Self-acceptance: the Sunflower Self," explores directly the theme of self-acceptance in his poetry and relates that theme to ecological consciousness. Chapter five, "Peak Experience," develops the connection between peak experiences in Ginsberg's life and poetry on the one hand and ecological consciousness on the other.The conclusion, "Ginsberg: Poet of Self and Ecological Consciousness," highlights tenderness, gentleness, and passiveness as the salient characteristics of his poetry and of the ecologically conscious person in his approach to life and living.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180904 |
| Date | January 1978 |
| Creators | Smits, Ronald Francis |
| Contributors | Koontz, Thomas W. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 245 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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