England has Shakespeare, Scotland has Burns, Ireland has Yeats and the United States has Bob Dylan. In terms of both artistic and social influence, Dylan shares the status, only with the company of Walt Whitman, as the American national poet.
The balance between musician and poet has always been blurred with Dylan and to the benefit of fans of both forms. When asked about this dichotomy in a 1965 press conference, Dylan responded: "I think of myself as a song-and-dance man," though he has since been awarded a Pulitzer Prize citation and has long been a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
What separates Dylan as a poet among musicians is not only the themes, allusions or imagery in his work, but his use of a form that often does not rely on choruses of more than one or two lines as well as his ability to write musical epics. Tracks like "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding," "Desolation Row" and "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" exemplify this form and can reach double digits in minutes. These qualities are also evident in the spoken-word track, "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie."
Dylan's first album was released in 1962, when he was 21 years old, and his artistic output has been consistent in the over 50 years since, influencing countless musicians in several genres. In 1964, he introduced the Beatles to marijuana when he misunderstood one of their lyrics (we can indirectly thank him for Sgt. Pepper) and his mark on the musician of the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen, is unmistakable.
Artists from Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke and Jimi Hendrix to Adele have taken influence from his music, as did Joyce Carol Oates's seminal short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
In an age when many complain that certain musicians do not have enough of a varied sound, Bob Dylan has reinvented himself numerous times and, as is the case of any truly great artist, he is noted for the importance of his artistic periods. The protest, folk period of his early career predominates the popular image of Dylan, as does his transformation of "going electric" with his surrealist lyrics – read "Tombstone Blues," "Ballad of a Thin Man" and "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat."
There are also the often forgotten incarnations of Dylan, which include a run at country music, an ill-advised Gospel phase and other struggles in the 80s. He now enjoys the role of an elder poet since 1997's Time Out of Mind, which witnessed a revival of his career and three Grammy awards including Album of the Year. This critical and artistic success has continued as albums like Love and Theft (2001), Modern Times (2006), Together Through Life (2009) and Tempest (2012) have reached at least number 10 on the Billboard Top 200.
Bob Dylan's shaping of modern America is unmistakable considering he was one of the early leading voices in the anti-war movement of the 1960s. Many also overlook his role in the Civil Rights movement as he not only wrote songs like "When the Ship Comes In" and "Only a Pawn in Their Game" but also performed for activist groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Furthermore, he performed at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in which King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
It might seem unusual to think of a singer as an integral part of American literature, but no other American poet of his time period has matched both his literary excellence and public involvement. Other prominent American poets like Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson lack this distinction. When he dies, Dylan will indeed be regarded as one of the preeminent poets in American history. His work will be an object of academic study with regard to literary form and social significance.
Ever-weary of labels and high praise, Dylan has rejected assessments of his contribution to popular music and his impact on the 1960s. He has also said that he believes his music will be forgotten years from now. Some things, however, speak for themselves, and Bob Dylan's work is no exception.
Online Editor Ross Fogg is a College senior from Fayetteville, Ga.
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