Subverting Hegemonic Discourse: The Focus on the Power of the Body, Sexuality and Nature in Allen Ginsberg and Diane di Prima's Poetry

Abstract

[EN] Allen Ginsberg and Diane di Prima are both notable poets of the 1950s North American literary movement, the Beat Generation. Being their works labeled as counterculture literature, both writers concentrate on their marginalization in society from different gender perspectives. Through a comparative study of Ginsberg and di Prima, the aim of this paper is to prove how they reattain control over their identity by means of subverting religion and the patriarchal society. In particular, I concentrate on the power of the body, sexuality, and human interconnectedness with the natural world in Ginsberg’s selected poems such as “Howl,” and di Prima’s Revolutionary Letters and Loba. This paper also examines how both poets employ creativity as a source of empowerment against the hazards of natural destruction due to industrialization and globalization in Western society. For the analysis, I will primarily focus on ecocriticism and Marxist theories, which examine the power dynamics in environmental concerns through a depiction of male dominance and the woman/nature as objects of exploitation for his desire. I will also investigate Michel Foucault's concept of body-mind dualism, which suggests that the mind is corrupted by the patriarchal thinking throughout the times in contrast with the celebration of the body and sexuality in Ginsberg and di Prima. Besides, through Butler’s gender performativity theory, I will explore how homosexuality and queer sexuality is portrayed. The paper concludes that in fact, both authors triumphed in subverting archetypical discourses and visualizing ecological and gender normativity issues. Nevertheless, Ginsberg and di Prima have different approaches in denouncing the discrimination that minorities suffer in a patriarchal society. Both poets employ Judeo-Christian symbolism, such as Moloch, to condemn the oppressive nature of the prevailing system, which isolates individuals and restricts their freedom. Ginsberg's portrayal of Moloch touches upon societal concerns like capitalism, environmental degradation, and homosexuality, while di Prima's exploration centers on gender disparities and the objectification of women. Moreover, Ginsberg utilizes the public space to envision homosexuality and liberate from the heteronormative masculine-male category, whilst di Prima applies a feminist and kaleidoscopic vision of the woman’s identity and her empowerment in nature which defies patriarchal classification.