In “A Supermarket in California,” Allen Ginsberg uses the American supermarket as an extended metaphor for the mind and experiences of a poet. In this supermarket of the mind, the poet can select images and inspirations just as one would search for items on a grocery list. The free verse form allows for the free association of ideas. The vocabulary and literary techniques, notably the absence of rhyme, are an excellent demonstration of the freedom of poetry that characterized the Beat movement. The first half of this poem provides excellent material for interpretation and explanation. Ginsberg's speaker in "A Supermarket in California" - more pessimistic than his beloved muse, Walt Whitman - may fantasize about an ideal "America of Love", but the poem's final rhetorical questions reveal his conviction that this vision of an accepting America, loving America never existed in the first place – at least not for itself. His America, by contrast, is overwhelmed and plagued by chronic loneliness. To establish this point, one must first examine how the speaker of the poem expresses his own reality in America through the lens of a dreamlike style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The poem begins with the speaker, presumably Ginsberg as a writer, wandering the streets in frustration, searching for something. He stumbles into a supermarket and finds Walt Whitman, and follows him everywhere, trying to use him as a guide in his own writing. The supermarket at night is the metaphorical location of the action of the poem; everything happens in Ginsberg's head. Ginsberg is compelled to write this poem for several reasons. He is frustrated by his lack of inspiration and things to write about. He turns to Whitman, one of the most important figures in poetry, for guidance. Whitman's presence in the poem speaks volumes. Ginsberg clearly considers him a predecessor with much to contribute in terms of inspiration. Whitman was also something of a revolutionary, both in his writings and in his personal life. He is a muse because he wrote in free verse and he was homosexual, like Ginsberg. The speaker even sees another poet he can draw inspiration from, Garcia Lorca, in his mental supermarket. “A Supermarket in California” falls into the “dramatic” category of poetry. It is written in free verse or in open form. This allows the free flow of ideas and words, without the need to adhere to a deliberately pre-structured form. Ginsberg uses this lack of structure to the poem's advantage; it almost becomes a stream of consciousness, the speaker rambling as he follows Whitman through the store. Since there is no set form and the poem is essentially a series of sentences, enjambment is constant throughout the poem. This technique reinforces the theory that the poem reads as a broad stream of thought. The first half of the poem can be divided into two stanzas, each composed of lines of varying length with no rhyme scheme. The meter is primarily iambic, with slight variations. The reason for iambic meter is probably because it is the closest meter to how people actually speak. The absence of rhyme continues to be accompanied by the open form often adopted by modern poets. This allows the poem to be written without being altered by the need to fit the words into a certain pattern. As with most Beat writing, the poem does not follow a "traditional" structure or form. Since the poem is in open form, withoutrhyme scheme, vocabulary is the most important aspect of the poem. Ginsberg uses everyday words in unusual ways to convey a less ordinary meaning. The verbs “wandered,” “walked,” “looked,” (2), “shopping” (3), and “dreamed” (5) all imply searching for something, which is exactly what the speaker is doing . The verbs "prick" (10), "look" (11), and "ask" (12), which are the verbs used for Whitman's actions, all imply a feeling of confusion, as if Whitman is lost in this modern world of poetry. In the first sentence of the poem, the tone is set by the choice of words. The word "headache" (2) denotes frustration, the fact that the speaker is "embarrassed" (2) shows that he is aware of his problem with his writing choices or lack thereof. The “full moon” (3) in the first sentence could have several meanings. It could be full and therefore completely luminous, illuminating everything underneath and thus making it clear. This clarity could allow for more fluid creativity, helping the speaker find the images they are looking for. The second line deepens the supermarket metaphor and the frustration revealed in the first line of the poem. “Hungry fatigue” (4) is one of the most carefully chosen phrases in the poem. The speaker is hungry for images, hungry for inspiration. He's tired because he's been searching for so long, stuck in a writing rut. The supermarket shopping experience is a fairly modern concept. In Whitman's time, for example, one had to go to many different stores (e.g. bakery, butcher, etc.) to get all the items on a grocery list. The supermarket has everything well organized under one roof, making it easy to purchase images. The adjective “neon” (4) advances the modern supermarket business environment. The easily observable literary techniques of alliteration, assonance, and consonance can be first seen in the second half of the first stanza. “Peaches” (6) and “penumbras” (6) both begin with the letter “p,” which is a clear example of alliteration. The consonance is illustrated by the “v” sound in the words “wives” (7) and “lawyers” (7). This last word is also an example of assonance when paired with the word “tomatoes” (8), as they both have a final “bone” sound. This section of the poem is perhaps the most euphonious. In addition to the techniques used above, the repetitive "l" sounds, found in the phrases "whole families" (6), "full aisles" (7) and "Lorca... watermelons" (8-9) , add to the fluid tone of the poem, making it seem more like everyday speech while retaining a poetic, almost romantic quality. Ginsberg also uses dissonance, which conflicts with euphony, and makes the poem more realistic. For example, the word "grubber" used to describe Whitman is harsh in both sound and meaning. The beginning of the second stanza describes Walt Whitman and his activities at the supermarket. Once again, Ginsberg's choice of words fits the tone of the poem perfectly. The fact that Whitman is described as "childless and lonely" (10) creates the mental image of an old man lacking any real joy on his face or in his behavior, perhaps feeling out of place in the supermarket filled with families. When Whitman “picks” (10) the meats and asks who killed the pork chops, he displays his age and his old habits. Perhaps the reason for his seemingly absurd interrogation in a supermarket is that in Whitman's time one would actually know who killed the pig where the meat came from, and one would be able to haggle over the price of the fruit with a seller. Keep in mind: This is just one.