This thesis sets out to explore the influence exerted by Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl on the poetics of Bob Dylan and Patti Smith. In particular, it will elaborate how some elements of Howl, be it the form or the theme, can be found in lyrics of Bob Dylan’s and Patti Smith’s songs. Along with Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and William Seward Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, Ginsberg’s poem is considered as one of the seminal texts of the Beat generation. Their works exemplify the same traits, such as the rejection of the standard narrative values and materialism, explicit descriptions of the human condition, the pursuit of happiness and peace through the use of drugs, sexual liberation and the study of Eastern religions. All the aforementioned works were clearly ahead of their time which got them labeled as inappropriate. Moreover, after their publications, Naked Lunch and Howl had to stand trials because they were deemed obscene. Like most of the works written by the beat writers, with its descriptions Howl was pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression and paved the path to its successors who continued to explore the themes elaborated in Howl. The thesis contends that the trials and the victories achieved by Ginsberg and Burroughs were major influences on the counterculture representatives: Dylan and Smith, who became constituent personas of the popular culture. Ginsberg’s notorious verses tackle numerous topics and ideas which clearly depict his conflicting feelings towards the society he lives in. As the paper’s analysis will show, the same critique can be found it Bob Dylan’s and Patti Smith’s songs. By using the elements of Howl: formal features, ideas and context, Dylan and Smith popularized Ginsberg’s most prominent poem and made the Beat generation ideas accessible to larger masses while promoting the formation of an anti-establishment culture.