Howl

Anaphora is the repetition of words and/or phrases at the beginning of subsequent verses, lines, or stanzas of poetry. This rhetorical device adds emphasis to the poem, placing explicit meaning on the repeating words or phrases. In “Howl,” Ginsberg repeats “who” in Part 1 to emphasize that he’s referring to “the best minds of [his] generation” (Line 1). In Part 2, he repeatedly uses Moloch—with exclamation points—to add emphasis, while Part 3 repeats the phrase “I am with you in Rockland,” and Part 4 repeats “Holy!” Because “Howl” is in free verse and each part is one run-on sentence, these anaphoric devices can also appear as refrains. While anaphora successively occurs at the beginning of verses, refrains typically come at the end of stanzas or at natural breaks in a poem. Like anaphora, refrains heighten emphasis and meaning by repeating phrases. Because there are no natural breaks in Part 3, for instance, “I am with you in Rockland” is both anaphora and a refrain.