Part II

E305340

Part II is the middle section of Allen Ginsberg’s landmark poem "Howl," known for its intense, repetitive address to “Moloch” as a symbol of dehumanizing modern society.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Part II canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf poem section
addressedTo Moloch
addresses modern society
associatedWith San Francisco Renaissance
author Allen Ginsberg
centralSymbol Moloch
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
firstPublishedIn "Howl and Other Poems"
follows Part I (section of "Howl")
form free verse
genre poetry
hasSectionNumber 2
historicalContext Cold War
surface form: Cold War era

post–World War II United States
imagery industrial imagery
mechanical imagery
war imagery
influencedBy Walt Whitman’s long line
biblical prophecy style
language English
literaryMovement Beat Generation
meter irregular
notableLine "Moloch whose mind is pure machinery!"
"Moloch whose name is the Mind!"
partOf Howl
surface form: "Howl"
positionInWork middle section
precedes Part III (section of "Howl")
publicationYear 1956
publisher City Lights Publishers
surface form: City Lights Books
refrain Moloch
surface form: "Moloch"
stylisticFeature anaphora
incantatory rhythm
long lines
repetition
symbolicReference Moloch
surface form: Old Testament Moloch
symbolizes dehumanizing modern society
theme capitalism
conformity
dehumanization
industrial society
madness
mechanization of life
spiritual emptiness
urban alienation
war
tone accusatory
apocalyptic
prophetic

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Howl section Part II