Question

Read this excerpt from Allen Ginsberg’s "A Supermarket in California."

I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator.

Why does Ginsberg make an allusion to Walt Whitman in this excerpt?
to suggest a knowledge of Walt Whitman and his poetic devices
to suggest an interest in Walt Whitman and his shopping habits
to suggest a critical judgement against Walt Whitman and other poets
to suggest a familiarity and kinship with Walt Whitman and other outcasts

Answer 1

to suggest a familiarity and kinship with Walt Whitman and other outcasts

Ginsberg invokes Whitman as a sympathetic, fellow outsider and poetic predecessor—placing him in a modern supermarket highlights their shared vision and marginal status, not a literal interest in Whitman’s shopping habits or a critique of his poetry.