“Howl” is structured as a litany in three parts. The word litany (LIH-tuh-nee) has religious as well as secular meanings, both of which apply to the poem. The traditional meaning of litany is religious in nature, and it refers to a type of prayer that consists of a series of invocations that come one after another. This notion has passed into secular usage, such that the word “litany” can refer to any repetitive chant. But it can also be used to refer to an enumeration of any large series or set. Hence the phrase, “a litany of complaints,” which just means “a long list of complaints.” All these meanings have relevance to “Howl.” In the first place, the poem as a whole takes the form of a lengthy series of invocations, most of which begin in the same, repetitive way. Furthermore, although the speaker’s invocations are not explicitly oriented toward the divine, they do contain many biblical and theological references. As such, the poem can be read as both a lament and a prayer for the destruction of the best minds of the speaker’s generation. For this reason, the traditional religious meaning of litany has clear relevance to the poem.

Though “Howl” takes the general form of a litany, it’s important to note the differences between the poem’s three parts. The first part, which is also the longest, could be read as an extended prayer that both mourns and celebrates three central figures: the madman, the bum, and the angel (or mystic). These figures repeatedly appear throughout part 1, in a succession of lines that form a litany simply by virtue of their always beginning with the same word: “who.” Part 2 responds to part 1 by asking what has caused the decay of the American imagination (line 79):

   What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?

The speaker answers this question by instigating a new form of litany organized around the evil Canaanite fire god, Moloch. The repeated invocation of Moloch invites us to read part 2 as both a denunciation of and prayer to this malign god. In part 3, the poem’s scope narrows drastically, becoming a prayerful dedication from Ginsberg to his friend, Carl Solomon. Once again, repetition is key. The lines in part 3 are split into pairs, with each pair always opening with the same pledge of solidarity: “I’m with you in Rockland.” Although each part of the poem has a different focus and style, they all take the form of a litany.