'In The Baggage Room At Greyhound' by Allen Ginsberg
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Howl and Other Poems1956IIn the depths of the Greyhound Terminalsitting dumbly on a baggage truck looking at the skywaiting for the Los Angeles Express to departworrying about eternity over the Post Office roof inthe night-time red downtown heavenstaring through my eyeglasses I realized shudderingthese thoughts were not eternity, nor the povertyof our lives, irritable baggage clerks,nor the millions of weeping relatives surrounding thebuses waving goodbye,nor other millions of the poor rushing around fromcity to city to see their loved ones,nor an indian dead with fright talking to a huge copby the Coke machine,nor this trembling old lady with a cane taking the lasttrip of her life,nor the red-capped cynical porter collecting his quar-ters and smiling over the smashed baggage,nor me looking around at the horrible dream,nor mustached negro Operating Clerk named Spade,dealing out with his marvelous long hand thefate of thousands of express packages,nor fairy Sam in the basement limping from leadentrunk to trunk,nor Joe at the counter with his nervous breakdownsmiling cowardly at the customers,nor the grayish-green whale's stomach interior loftwhere we keep the baggage in hideous racks,hundreds of suitcases full of tragedy rocking back andforth waiting to be opened,nor the baggage that's lost, nor damaged handles,nameplates vanished, busted wires & brokenropes, whole trunks exploding on the concretefloor,nor seabags emptied into the night in the finalwarehouse.IIYet Spade reminded me of Angel, unloading a bus,dressed in blue overalls black face official Angel's work-man cap,pushing with his belly a huge tin horse piled high withblack baggage,looking up as he passed the yellow light bulb of the loftand holding high on his arm an iron shepherd's crook.IIIIt was the racks, I realized, sitting myself on top ofthem now as is my wont at lunchtime to restmy tired foot,it was the racks, great wooden shelves and stanchionsposts and beams assembled floor to roof jumbledwith baggage,--the Japanese white metal postwar trunk gaudilyflowered & headed for Fort Bragg,one Mexican green paper package in purple ropeadorned with names for Nogales,hundreds of radiators all at once for Eureka,crates of Hawaiian underwear,rolls of posters scattered over the Peninsula, nuts toSacramento,one human eye for Napa,an aluminum box of human blood for Stocktonand a little red package of teeth for Calistoga-it was the racks and these on the racks I saw nakedin electric light the night before I quit,the racks were created to hang our possessions, to keepus together, a temporary shift in space,God's only way of building the rickety structure ofTime,to hold the bags to send on the roads, to carry ourluggage from place to placelooking for a bus to ride us back home to Eternitywhere the heart was left and farewell tearsbegan.IVA swarm of baggage sitting by the counter as the trans-continental bus pulls in.The clock registering 12:15 A.M., May 9, 1956, thesecond hand moving forward, red.Getting ready to load my last bus.-Farewell, WalnutCreek Richmond Vallejo Portland PacificHighwayFleet-footed Quicksilver, God of transience.One last package sits lone at midnight sticking up outof the Coast rack high as the dusty fluorescentlight.The wage they pay us is too low to live on. Tragedyreduced to numbers.This for the poor shepherds. I am a communist.Farewell ye Greyhound where I suffered so much,hurt my knee and scraped my hand and builtmy pectoral muscles big as a vagina.
Editor 1 Interpretation
"In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" by Allen Ginsberg: A Literary Criticism and Interpretation
Wow, where do I even begin with this poem? "In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" by Allen Ginsberg is a masterpiece of modern poetry, showcasing the poet's unique style and ability to capture the essence of a moment and turn it into something profound.
This poem was written in 1955 and was published in Ginsberg's collection "Howl and Other Poems" a year later. It is a unique and almost surreal exploration of the human experience, with a focus on the mundane and seemingly insignificant moments that make up our lives.
The title of the poem itself is intriguing, as it immediately sets the stage for the reader to imagine a scene in a bus station baggage room. This mundane setting is the perfect backdrop for Ginsberg's exploration of the human experience.
Let's dive into the poem and explore its themes, language, and imagery in more detail.
Themes
At its core, "In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a meditation on the human experience. It explores themes such as isolation, connection, mortality, and the search for meaning in life.
The poem opens with the speaker observing the people around them in the baggage room, noting their isolation and the way they seem disconnected from each other. This sense of isolation is a recurring theme throughout the poem, as the speaker observes the passengers and wonders about their lives and experiences.
However, amidst this sense of isolation, the speaker also finds moments of connection and empathy. They observe a woman crying and offer her a handkerchief, showing a kind of compassion and connection that is often missing in modern society.
Ultimately, the poem is a meditation on the human condition and the search for meaning and connection in an often disconnected world.
Language and Imagery
One of the things that makes "In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" so powerful is its use of language and imagery. Ginsberg is a master of using simple, everyday language to create profound and poetic moments.
For example, the opening line of the poem - "What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman" - immediately sets the tone for the entire piece. By invoking the name of Whitman, a poet known for his celebration of the human experience, Ginsberg signals to the reader that this poem will explore similar themes.
Throughout the poem, Ginsberg uses simple, direct language to create vivid images of the people and places he is describing. He describes the passengers in the baggage room as "gray-faced, doughy hands", creating an image of people who are tired and worn down by life.
He also uses a number of metaphors and symbols to explore his themes. For example, in the following lines:
The ticking clack of iron wheels as loud as a river, as cold as frost, as certain as doom
Ginsberg uses the sound of the train to create a metaphor for the passage of time and the inevitability of mortality. The train becomes a symbol of death, moving inexorably forward and taking us all with it.
Conclusion
"In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a powerful and moving poem that explores the human experience in all its complexity. It combines simple language and vivid imagery to create a portrait of modern life that is both bleak and hopeful.
Through the poem, Ginsberg meditates on themes such as isolation, connection, mortality, and the search for meaning in life. He uses a number of metaphors and symbols to create a sense of depth and complexity, while still maintaining the simplicity and directness of his style.
Overall, "In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a masterpiece of modern poetry that continues to resonate with readers today. It is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the essence of the human experience and turn it into something beautiful and profound.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Poetry In The Baggage Room At Greyhound: A Masterpiece of Beat Poetry
Allen Ginsberg is one of the most celebrated poets of the Beat Generation, and his poem "Poetry In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a masterpiece of the genre. This poem is a vivid and powerful portrayal of the struggles and joys of life on the road, and it captures the spirit of the Beat Generation in all its raw and unbridled energy.
The poem begins with the speaker arriving at the Greyhound bus station, where he encounters a group of fellow travelers who are all waiting for their buses. The speaker describes the scene in vivid detail, painting a picture of a chaotic and bustling environment filled with people from all walks of life.
As the speaker waits for his bus, he begins to observe the people around him and to reflect on the nature of their lives. He sees a young couple who are deeply in love, a group of soldiers who are heading off to war, and a homeless man who is searching for a place to sleep. Each of these characters represents a different aspect of the human experience, and the speaker uses their stories to explore the themes of love, war, and homelessness.
Throughout the poem, the speaker also reflects on his own experiences as a traveler. He describes the thrill of the open road, the excitement of discovering new places and meeting new people, and the sense of freedom that comes from living a life untethered to any one place or person.
At the same time, however, the speaker also acknowledges the challenges and hardships that come with a life on the road. He describes the loneliness and isolation that can come from being constantly on the move, and he reflects on the difficulty of finding a sense of belonging in a world that is always changing.
Despite these challenges, however, the speaker remains committed to his life as a traveler and to the ideals of the Beat Generation. He sees himself as a rebel and a nonconformist, someone who is willing to reject the norms and conventions of society in order to live a life that is true to his own values and beliefs.
In many ways, "Poetry In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a celebration of the Beat Generation and all that it stood for. It is a powerful and evocative portrayal of a group of people who were determined to live life on their own terms, to reject the constraints of society, and to embrace the freedom and adventure that comes with a life on the road.
At the same time, however, the poem is also a deeply human and empathetic work, one that recognizes the struggles and hardships that come with any life, no matter how unconventional. It is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the essence of the human experience, and to help us to see the world in new and profound ways.
Overall, "Poetry In The Baggage Room At Greyhound" is a masterpiece of Beat poetry, and a testament to the enduring power of Allen Ginsberg's work. It is a work that speaks to the heart of the human experience, and that continues to inspire and move readers to this day.
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