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Walt Whitman (1819-92) wrote, "The chief reason for the being of the United States of America is to bring about the common good will of all mankind, the solidarity of the world" (Leaves of Grass). Walt Whitman, one of the most influential poets to come out of America was a true patriot. This loyalty to his country is clear in his poetry which continually praises the United States, and was born out of his belief that "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem" (Leaves of Grass).

Allen Ginsberg (1926-97), on the other hand, was one of the original American rebels. His hedonistic lifestyle and open rejection of the conservative American values of his time show him in sharp contrast to Walt Whitman. Much of his poetry blatantly throws commonplace norms back in the faces of the people of the 'Land of Hope and Glory'.

These very different attitudes to their homeland create an obvious contrast between the two poets. Whilst Walt Whitman saw himself as a man of the people and a voice for America, Allen Ginsberg revelled in his outcast s

In the final line of the poem, line 90, Ginsberg claims that he will change America for the better to something he can admire, but he also makes a shocking admission of his own homosexuality "America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel". Such an admission would have been very rare for 1950s America, for Ginsberg, however, due to his contempt for all American conservative social norms it is almost to be expected.

In "American Air", a manuscript fragment more than a published poem, Whitman again supports the idea that America is 'one for all and all for one'. In line 2 he says "American ground that supports me, I will support you also". According to Mick Gidley and evident from this extract "For Whitman the idea of democracy entails not only an equality of voice at the ballot but a thoroughgoing cultural equality"(Modern American Culture).

Ø Whitman Biography. 21 November 1999.

Midway through the poem, line 48, Ginsberg, in a parody of Whitman who saw himself as the American voice, claims "It occurs to me that I am America". Unlike Whitman, however, Ginsberg continues this line of thought in line 53 by insulting the country that he is "My national resources consist of two joints of marijuana millions of genitals". In line 61 he continues this abusive line of thought by claiming that the American public would have poetry churned out in mass production without thought or understanding "I will continue like Henry Ford my strophes are as individual as his automobiles".

Yet for all their differences in the way they view America Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg possessed some significant similarities. Ginsberg, as well as other poets such as Ezra Pound, was greatly influenced by Whitman and wrote of him and like in, especially in terms of style "Writers of the Beats movement...have shown an affinity for a Whitmanesque rhapsodic (sometimes 'frantic') style best seen in the ululating long lines of Ginsberg's "Howl""(American Poetry). In stylistic terms Whitman broke the mould in his time, these long, free flowing lines brought, for Whitman, a release from the former static styles of poetry and an expression of the freedom he wished to impress his poetry with. William Carlos Williams said of Whitman's style that "he was driven to find a way for himself like the American pioneers"(American Poetry).

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Approximate Word count = 2111
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)