Allen Ginsberg's 'Put Down Your Cigarette Rag: Don T Smoke'

Allen Ginsberg was a ground-breaking American poet, Ginsberg was the founder of The Beat Generation, a group of influential American literature writers post World War ll. Politics wasn’t the only thing Ginsberg works was about. His works range from social issues to themes of sexuality, political, and many more themes. Ginsberg always pushed the envelope in his works using obscene language, drug use, and homosexuality adding that factor of shock value which helped capture his audience attention. Some of Ginsberg poem’s “Please Master” are not for the faint-hearted. In his personal life, Ginsberg fought for social, political, and gay rights issues in society. Ginsberg’s “Put Down Your Cigarette Rag (Don’t Smoke) the subject is smoking but the theme of the poem has more to do with than just how smoking is detrimental to one’s health. Ginsberg uses ballad, performance poetry, and symbolism capture the attention of his audience of why one should not smoke. The theme of Ginsberg’s “Put Down Your Cigarette Rag (Don’t Smoke) is to not smoke cigarettes because buying cigarettes helps support greedy profits made by Capitalist/ Communists.

Ginsberg wrote the poem like a ballad were the poem sounds like a song. Ginsberg writes, Don’t smoke/ It’s a nine billion dollar / Capitalist and Communist Joke.” (2-4). Ginsberg is saying to his audiences that smoking is contributing to helping Capitalist/ Communist racking big racks of cash. Ginsberg want to use his poetry to radicalize young people- for them to open their eye and free their minds. Ginsberg writing the poem like a ballad to help capture the attention of his audience like an attention