The Use of Vulgarity in the Works of Allen GinsbergThe Beat poets were the voice of a generation. Pure honesty and truth are a primary goal of beat poets, and for them, this honesty and truth is best achieved with crude, often vulgar language that may make some readers uncomfortable. In this excerpt from his book Allen Ginsberg, Thomas Merrill comments on the truth exposed by the poet: ...such a commitment to internal truth not only permits but demands uninhibited confessions that tend to make conventional readers squirm. Many beat writers, especially Ginsberg, display their most intimate actions and feelings...in aggressive street language (2). In Ginsberg's collection of poems, Reality Sandwiches, 1953-1960, "The reader gets a good taste of Ginsberg's mouth. .. who, as usual, is unabashedly honest and often flamboyant (Merrill 88). The unapologetic honesty in this collection often concerns sex and drugs, these topics being important to this generation of rebellion. A fantasy road trip enjoyed by Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, his former lover, Ginsberg features sexual images. Two of the images follow: I would honk at his manly door, inside his wife and three children sprawled naked on the living. floor of the room.(Ginsberg, Reality Sandwiches 11)Neal, we will be real heroes now in a war between our dicks and time:(15)Even if some readers pay little attention to the allusions to homosexuality, a images, the one concerning Cassady's children, might make some readers uncomfortable. The imagery here is strong, it is this strength of imagery that...... middle of paper ...... in "Howl" and "On Neal's Ashes" the vulgarities are used not only to the effect, but to really convey the feeling he wishes to express. Although some may feel uncomfortable, the true nature of the poet is to convey feelings, and this is done in an extremely competent manner. Works Cited Ginsberg, Allen. Reality Sandwiches 1953-1960. San Francisco: Books of City Lights, 1963.- - - . "To yell". Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A. Poulin Jr.. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 175-182.- - - . "America". Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A. Poulin Jr.. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 182-184.- - - . "On Neal's Ashes". Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A. Poulin Jr.. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 188. Merrill, Thomas. Allen Ginsberg. Boston: Twayne, 1988.