Bob Dylan Research Paper

Nobel Peace Prize winner Bob Dylan has inspired generations through the stories his songs produce. Born on May 24, 1941, Bob Dylan, initially given the name Robert Allen Zimmerman at birth, had performed under the nickname “Bob Dillon” during his college life. Bob Dylan attended school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, during which he played folk and country songs at local cafes. “Encouraged by his local success as a performer, Dylan quit university life and moved to New York City in January 1961.” (“Bob Dylan”). Bouncing between different performances in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, Bob Dylan eventually gained a record contract with Columbia Records after a review from The New York Times highlighted his singing. “The 1963 release

Dylan, already being seen as a terrific singer, became known as the songwriter of the 60s protest movement after his next album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, was released. After only three years after his record signing, Bob Dylan played in around two hundred concerts annually. In 1989, Bob Dylan, being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, had been compared to Elvis Presley by Bruce Springsteen during his ceremony. He had become the first rock star to receive the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence, the Kennedy Center Honors, in 1997. On October 13, 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature for his outstanding work that had changed the American song tradition by creating new ways of expressing different poetic thoughts through music. In Bob Dylan's song, "Hurricane," the lyrics reveal the racism in the past, and the poetic devices used are worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize for

The imagery used in the song creates a picture of the potential Rubin Carter had before his false arrest, “Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been / The champion of the world” (Dylan 44/45). The words, “The champion of the world,” creates a level of importance for Rubin Carter that gets crushed by the use of a prison cell. The listener feels empathy for Rubin Carter’s false arrest and a sense of respect for being called a champion. The image of a world famous boxer behind bars relates to the importance of racism Rubin Carter faced during his prosecution since he has utterly no reason to murder three white men, which also means he throws his entire life away. Bob Dylan is known for his implementation of poetry in different genres of music, even bringing poetry into folk music at a young age. “As a supernaturally gifted youngster, he brought into folk music a poetic license” (McCormick). Imagery is a poetic device used by most song writers, not just Bob Dylan, because of its capabilities to paint a story inside a listener’s