I'm going against the grain and try to decipher what Allen Ginsberg meant by "comic realism" in regards to his piece, "Howl." Nothing about the majority of the poem strikes me as necessarily funny, at least not "ha-ha funny" (there are a few lines). However, after finding an excerpt online from the 50th anniversary edition of "Howl" (excerpt here) I had more of an idea of what he was after. Ginsberg states that he changed the first line to read "hysterical" instead of the original "mystical" in order to set the tone of the piece from the beginning. The word hysterical to me conjures up an image of not funny, although it is a relative synonym, but rather, a crazed, f-it, let's enjoy the ride, actual hysteria that these "angel-headed hipsters" were experiencing. By introducing this word in the first line, Ginsberg invites the reader (or listener) to open his or her mind and accept the nonsensical, strangely but brilliantly worded, hyperbolic, oximoronic lines to follow.
There is a dark humor present in "Howl." These are the "best minds" of Ginsberg's generation, yet they are drug addicted, homosexual (invited or not), hallucinating, starved, and not at all recognized or appreciated by the majority. Every one of them is in an often futile attempt to seek enlightenment, acceptance, love, yet constantly find themselves doing things that are contradictory to that effort. It's a sad "funny" little thing, that these people try so hard to be accepted by the ones they hate (universities, government, etc.), and their gifted minds are wasting away due to drugs, poverty, and starvation. The gritty realism presented in "Howl" emphasizes just how far out of reach these minds really are, yet how in touch Ginsberg, through "Howl", allows us to be with them. I love the quote in the provided excerpt by Gregory Corso that states, "If you have a choice of two things and can't decide, take both." "Howl" is an all-encompassing metaphor for how wonderful and terrible the life of these poets, artists, and the entire beat-generation actually was. They had it all, yet had nothing. They lived life to the fullest, yet lacked. They were a united force, yet suffered from loneliness and exile. They were brilliant, yet mad.
The ironic, and probably the funniest part of "Howl" to me, is that we, along with countless others, are studying and reading and dissecting this poem in an academic setting. The comic realism of the piece transcends the actual text through the obscenity trial that occurred and actually catapulted the popularity of such an under-appreciated section of the population at that time. Even though the stark realistic language of "Howl" represents actual events and persons, it is sometimes difficult to look at it in that light- as an account of true events that led to the creation of an iconic poem, which succeeds in being beautiful through the use of ugly and disturbing language.
To answer the question of how this so-called "humor" adds or detracts to the piece, I have to say it adds to it. Ginsberg is accepting that his generation is messed up, but even being as far in the gutter as they are, they still have something to give, something to add to society. There's an acceptance in the humor, that without it, it would read more as a plea for forgiveness or even a confession; but Ginsberg isn't sorry for his generation or for his involvement in it. This is his way of saying, "Yeah, we f-ed it up, but we learned along the way. And we are all in this together, no matter how alone we feel. We can learn something from this, or we don't. Either way, we can laugh about it later, because that's life."
