Mystics or Madmen? The Poetry of Blake, Whitman, and Ginsberg

Course Description

William Blake claimed to be a visionary. A pre-Romantic poet and artist of the 18th century, who danced naked in his garden and claimed to converse with angels, Blake’s work Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789), was notable for his unique mystical vision about childhood and adulthood as “contrary states of the soul.” His poems are allegoric in nature, incorporating his complex mythology and interpretation of the Bible. 

Walt Whitman was inspired by William Blake. In the 19th century, he became America’s poet, extolling American Democracy while preaching Manifest Destiny. Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, not unlike Blake’s works, addressed the issues of spirituality, politics, and community, albeit from a pantheistic perspective. Whitman’s voice affirms the power of the human soul with an overriding optimism and faith. 

Allen Ginsberg was a Beat icon, revolutionary, and self-proclaimed prophet. He wrote Howl, perhaps the most famous poem of the 20th century, claiming that William Blake had appeared to him in a dream, plotting out his destiny to be the bardic voice of the 20th century, urging others to discover spirituality in a secular time.

In this discussion-based literature course, we will ask questions such as: How did each of these poets view their role as bard/prophet, and is there a convergence in their positions? How did their claims to being visionaries play out with the readers of their time, and how do they resonate now in our secular world? Why did both Whitman and Ginsberg reach back to Blake as the inspiration for their own work? Do their controversial views on spirituality and religiosity place them as madmen whose ideas were simply over the top, or as mystics who wrote about and experienced a more profound reality?

Books to purchase: 

Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and of Experience 

Ginsberg, Allen. Howl 

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass

Course Details