While some poems are only somewhat benefited by being read aloud or performed, others simply cannot be appreciated by reading them on a page or screen. Allan Ginsberg’s “Footnote to Howl” falls somewhere in the middle, with the inflections in his voice making the recording of the poem far more dynamic than just the text.

Ginsberg reads the first eleven lines of the poem with what sounds like excitement, exclaiming the holiness of everything and everyone, from a nose to a typewriter to a skyscraper. He name drops his fellow beat poets like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady (line 6) and sings the praises of cities all over the world (line 11). However, as the poem progresses, his voice slowly decreases in volume and forcefulness.

The tone of the poem begins to noticeably change at the 12th line: “Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time holy the clocks in space holy the fourth dimension holy the fifth International holy the Angel in Moloch!” Ginsberg slows down significantly, and his nearly monotone voice sounds more like it is making a statement than an exclamation. His tone grows even more somber two lines later: even though the several exclamation points in the 14th line are similar to those in the first eleven lines, the excitement is gone. He sounds almost in tears when he reads, “Holy! Ours! bodies! suffering! Magnanimity!” (line 14).

The somber tone of Ginsberg’s voice as he reads the poem forces the emphasis to be on the latter half of the poem. As a result, the impression left on the reader is different than it would be just reading the text. The praise and declarations of holiness in the first half become accompanied by an appreciation and thankfulness for suffering, mercy, and forgiveness–the poem seems to be focused not on external objects and concepts but on the very things that make us human.