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Article: Is Bob Dylan an artist?(Critical Essay)
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BOB DYLAN invented a new creative medium when he fused poetical lyrics and rock 'n' roll to form what became known as 'rock music'. It was The Beatles who made rock accessible to the masses, but the idea of marrying significant words with popular music was Dylan's.
Ever since the birth of this bastard child of one of history's most unlikely couplings, the legitimacy as an art form of rock in general and Bob Dylan's lyrics in particular have been fiercely debated by critics and academics. The debate moved into a new sphere in 1972 when the British playwright David Hare first compared Dylan with Keats. The comparison was seized upon by the then Professor of English ...