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Bob Dylan Nobel Prize: Redefining Literary Excellence in Music

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Updated: 3 November, 2023

Words: 1951 | Pages: 4 | 10 min read

In the world of literature, the Nobel Prize is an esteemed accolade traditionally reserved for writers and poets who have made profound contributions to the realm of letters. However, the decision to award Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 marked a departure from convention. Dylan, renowned as a folk singer and songwriter, received this prestigious honor "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." This unconventional selection sparked widespread discussion and debate, challenging the established norms of literary recognition. Critics argue that Bob Dylan's recognition as a Nobel laureate in Literature diverges from tradition, contending that the prize should be reserved for writers who have made groundbreaking contributions to the written word. However, Dylan's win signals a paradigm shift, breaking the mold of previous laureates. His unique status as a singer and songwriter expands the definition of literature, acknowledging that words set to music can be equally powerful and profound.

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Controversies surrounding dylan's nobel win, bob dylan’s “oxford town” and social injustice, works cited, video version.

Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it is ragin'. It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin'.

You may also be interested Essay Title Generator

• Dylan, B. (1964). The Times They Are A-Changin'. On The Times They Are A-Changin' [MP3]. Columbia Records.
• North, A. (2016, October 13). Why Bob Dylan shouldn’t have gotten a Nobel. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/opinion/why-bob-dylan-shouldnt-have-gotten-a-nobel.html
• Sheffield, R. (2016, October 14). Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize isn’t About Literature. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bob-dylans-nobel-prize-isnt-about-literature-196482/
• The Nobel Prize. (n.d.). NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/
• Traynor, C. (2017). Songs of social protest. In A. Hager (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Bob Dylan (pp. 43-57). Cambridge University Press.
• Trout, S. (2007). Bob Dylan and postmodernism. In C. Ricks & J. Szeman (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to modernism (pp. 216-229). Cambridge University Press.
• Williams, P. (2009). Performing the song: The singer-songwriter and the performance of authenticity in postwar America. In T. Pinch & K. Bijsterveld (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of sound studies (pp. 410-423). Oxford University Press.
• Womack, K. (2014). Bob Dylan’s performance style. In J. Covach & G. Boone (Eds.), Understanding rock: Essays in musical analysis (pp. 181-193). Oxford University Press.
• Womack, K. (2015). The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan: Introduction. In K. Womack (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Bob Dylan (pp. 1-17). Cambridge University Press.
• Womack, K. (2017). The Nobel prize and Bob Dylan. In A. Hager (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Bob Dylan (pp. 270-276). Cambridge University Press.

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The Nobel Prize and Bob Dylan: Argumentative Essay Example

Musicians and writers have a lot in common. But does that mean musicians like Bob Dylan deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature? A debate sparked back in 2016 when Bob Dylan got the award. People say he deserves it, while critics on the other hand disagree. I'll be explaining why I think Bob Dylan rightfully deserves the award. 

Musicians can inspire others, people even say it's like poetry. Schools have devoted themselves to analyzing his work "Literary scholars have long debated whether Mr. Dylan’s lyrics can stand on their own as poetry, and an astonishing volume of academic work has been devoted to parsing his music. The Oxford Book of American Poetry included his song “Desolation Row” in its 2006 edition, and Cambridge University Press released The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan in 2009, further cementing his reputation as a brilliant literary stylist." Article 4

Not only is Dylan's music inspiring, but it also covers heavy topics, making it have the same weight as any other piece of a writer. These topics can include love to politics ' “Dylan has recorded a large number of albums revolving around topics like the social conditions of man, religion, politics, and love. The lyrics have continuously been published in new editions, under the title Lyrics' Article 2.

Other people might say since Dylan is a musician, they argue his art isn't as high class as actual poems and writing. Now, I may agree if it wasn't for the fact that the standard for what's 'low and high class' art has changed over the years. The award just proves that musicians can be high-class artists “It’s literature, but it’s music, it’s performance, it’s art, it’s also highly commercial,” said David Hajdu, a music critic for The Nation who has written extensively about Mr. Dylan and his contemporaries. “The old categories of high and low art, they’ve been collapsing for a long time, but this is it being made official.” article 4

Musicians and writers can create inspiring pieces of work with just their words. Dylan getting the prize has started many arguments. Musicians deserve to be taken as seriously as writers.

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The Nobel Prize and Bob Dylan: Free Argumentative Essay Example

The Nobel Prize in Literature is a prize that is awarded to the best of the best poetic authors in literary history. Well, today that isn’t the case. You see there was one songwriter who goes by the name of Bob Dylan, who won this prize. Who is Bob Dylan you may ask?  Bob Dylan is a well-known American songwriter who has earned plenty of awards for his incredible lyrics including the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, that didn’t stop the public from making a big fuss about a singer winning a Nobel Prize in literature.  

What is poetry?  Is poetry something that people just make up and publish? Is poetry a way to express oneself? Well according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary poetry is  “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.”  Why exactly are people making a big deal about a songwriter winning a Nobel Prize in literature?  Well, people didn’t like the fact that Bob Dylan was not a real writer or a novelist and that he robbed others of such a highly rewarded prize. People viewed music as nothing more than something you listen to when you're in the car or on the way to work or working out.  They viewed the writing of a song differently than poetry; they looked at it as if it was some kind of knockoff. What do I think should have happened? Well, of course, I think that Bob Dylan well deserved this reward. He put in all the time and effort to become a successful songwriter. I do not think anyone should discourage him because he is not an “official author”. If you think about it, he is an author in his own unique way. What is an author’s purpose for writing? Is the purpose of writing just to entertain others? Is the purpose of writing just another way of making money? Well, I think the purpose of writing is to inform others about situations in life or to make people feel comfortable relieve stress and somewhat relate to their audience.  It's the same concept with music. I know when I feel upset or uneasy.  I can turn to music to calm myself down. I think more songwriters should be rewarded for their hard work. If I’m being honest, our generation has aged a lot and is no longer focusing on books anymore. We have so much new technology and music will spread way quicker than books. 

Taking everything into account, it doesn’t take writing a book to be a poetic figure; writing songs is its own unique way of poetry. Bob Dylan wasn’t given this by mistake; it was destiny for him to achieve this. He earned it. He put in all the hours and hours of working hard. With that same dedication and determination that Bob Dylan has shown,  maybe you could be the next person to earn the Nobel prize who knows?

Poetry. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poetry

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The Nobel Lecture in Literature by Toni Morrison

This essay about Toni Morrison’s Nobel Lecture, examining its themes and significance. Morrison’s discourse explores the responsibilities of storytellers, the power of language, and the moral foundation of storytelling. She emphasizes the importance of thoughtful language use, audience engagement, and truth-telling in literature. Through allegory and reflection, Morrison challenges writers and readers to wield language with intention and integrity, underscoring its potential to shape understanding and foster empathy. Her lecture serves as a timeless reminder of the ethical imperative of storytelling and the transformative impact of words on collective realities.

How it works

In 1993, Toni Morrison, a titan of American literature, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, a recognition that was not only a testament to her literary genius but also an affirmation of the profound depth and searing insight of her work. Morrison’s Nobel Lecture, delivered in Stockholm, is a masterpiece that encapsulates her gift for language, her profound understanding of human experience, and her unwavering commitment to truth-telling. This essay seeks to explore the themes and the significance of Morrison’s lecture, delving into the intricacies of her narrative craft and the powerful message she conveyed to the global audience.

Morrison’s lecture begins with a compelling parable about a wise, old woman who is challenged by a group of young people. They come to her with a bird hidden in their hands and ask her to determine whether it is alive or dead. This allegory, rich in metaphorical significance, sets the stage for a discourse on the responsibilities of storytellers, the power of language, and the often underestimated weight of words. In her narrative, the old woman represents the storyteller, the guardian of truth and morality, who is constantly challenged by those who may see language as a tool for manipulation rather than enlightenment.

Throughout her lecture, Morrison emphasizes the potency of language as a force capable of constructing reality. She warns of the dangers of language misused – where words can oppress, mislead, and degrade. However, she also speaks of its capacity to liberate, to empathize, and to connect. In Morrison’s view, language is the measure of our lives, a sentiment deeply embedded in her own writing. Her novels, characterized by their epic themes and intricate characters, seek to reclaim the narratives of African Americans, narratives that have been historically marginalized or distorted.

Morrison’s Nobel Lecture is also a call to action for writers and readers alike. She challenges her audience to wield language thoughtfully and with intention, to recognize its impact on our understanding of and interaction with the world. This call is particularly resonant in today’s global landscape, where truth is often obscured and stories are hijacked by those in power. Morrison’s insistence on the moral foundation of storytelling is a reminder of the role of artists in society – not merely to entertain but to provoke, to challenge, and to speak truth.

Moreover, Morrison does not just address the responsibilities of the storyteller; she also delves into the necessity of audience engagement. The act of storytelling is interactive, requiring an audience that is attentive, critical, and responsive. Her lecture underscores the idea that stories demand a participatory audience, one that is willing to question and to reflect, thereby completing the circle of communication and enhancing the communal experience of storytelling.

In conclusion, Toni Morrison’s Nobel Lecture in Literature is not only a reflection on her own literary journey but also a profound discourse on the ethics and the power of storytelling. Through her allegorical narrative, she articulates a vision of literature that bears witness, challenges the status quo, and fosters a sense of shared humanity. Her words resonate with the urgency of truth-telling in an age of pervasive distortion, making her lecture a timeless reflection on the role of the artist and the power of the word. As we revisit Morrison’s teachings, we find not only inspiration but also a renewed sense of responsibility towards the use of language in our daily lives and its potential to shape our collective realities.

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Could a video game developer win the Nobel Prize for Literature?

Profesor de Humanidades, IE University

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Andrés Porras Chaves does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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In October 2016, the Swedish Academy announced that it was awarding the Nobel prize for Literature to the singer-songwriter Bob Dylan for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. The decision sent out shockwaves: for the first time, a musician had received the most prestigious literary award on the planet. It sparked debate , with many questioning the decision and even sarcastic suggestions that novelists could aspire to winning a Grammy.

The controversy fed into much needed debates on the boundary between poetry and song, but the question of what constitutes literature is much broader. Does it mean the same as it did in 1901, when the first Nobel prize for literature was awarded?

High and low culture

These questions date back far beyond 2016. In the late 1950s, a group of professors from the University of Birmingham founded a new interdisciplinary area of study, called cultural studies , in order to ask new questions: What was the role of TV and other mass media in cultural development? Is there a justification for distinguishing high and low culture? What is the relationship between culture and power?

These questions are all still relevant to current debates around literature. Often, the word “literary” is a status symbol, a seal of approval to distinguish “high” culture from more vulgar or less valuable “low” forms of culture. Comics, for example, were not invited to join the club until recently, thanks in part to a rebranding under the more respectable guise of “graphic novels”.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, literature displays “excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest”. It seems that an artist like Bob Dylan can take home the Nobel prize thanks to literature’s defining feature of “excellence of form or expression”, which is not strictly limited to the written word.

But how do we account for other language-based forms of expression? If performed works such as theatre or songwriting can be considered literature, where is the limit?

Word play: text-based video games

According to data from video game data consultancy Newzoo , more than 3 billion people play video games worldwide – almost half of the world’s population. In Spain alone, 77% of young people play videogames , making them a massively relevant form of culture. But what does this have to do with “excellence of form or expression”? To answer this question we have to look back several decades.

When the first video games were developed in the 1950s, two distinct genres emerged: one was action oriented (such as the pioneering 1958 game Tennis for Two ), and the other more text based. The original written games, known as “ interactive fiction ”, were made up exclusively of text, and the player’s job was to read and make decisions that would determine the game’s outcome using a keyboard.

The inclusion of images in adventure games would not arrive until 1980, when Mystery House became the first “graphic adventure” game. These would reach their heyday in the 1990s: famous examples include the first two Monkey Island games (1990, 1991), Day of the Tentacle (1993), Full Throttle (1995), and Grim Fandango (1998), though there were many others. Despite technological advances, these games inherited several features from interactive fiction, including the predominant role of text.

The experience of playing one of these titles is not so different from that of a book: reading, pauses, the possibility of backtracking, and so on. The player spends most of their time in dialogue with various characters in search of information, stories, or even banter and jokes that are irrelevant to the game’s progress, much like footnotes or subplots.

Several classic adventure games even have direct links to literature: The Abbey of Crime (1987) is a Spanish adaptation of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose , while the legendary insult sword fighting of The Secret of Monkey Island was written by science fiction author Orson Scott Card . In Myst (1993), the gameplay itself revolves around two books.

Literature on the screen: “story-rich” games

In more recent years, a new sub-genre of adventure games – known as “story-rich” games – has become popular thanks to independent creators and producers. In Papers, Please (2013), a border policeman in a fictional dictatorial regime deals with terrible moral dilemmas on a daily basis. In Firewatch (2016), players take the role of a forest ranger who investigates a conspiracy by walkie-talkie. In Return of the Obra Dinn (2018), the player must reconstruct a tragedy on the high seas with the help of an incomplete book and a peculiar compass. In all these cases, gameplay and visuals take a back seat to strong narratives.

A quintessential example is The Stanley Parable (2011), where the player takes the role of a worker in a strangely deserted office. They have to explore several corridors while trying unsuccessfully to interact with their surroundings, accompanied by the voice of an enigmatic narrator. Upon reaching a room with two open doors, the voiceover states that Stanley “entered the door on his left”.

The player can choose to follow the instructions or disobey, provoking the wrath of the narrator much like in the denouement of Miguel de Unamuno’s 1914 novel Fog , where the main character speaks directly to the author.

Each decision then opens up new paths leading to dozens of possible endings, similar to a “choose your own adventure” book. Its fragmentary and disordered story – as well as its playful spirit – is reminiscent of Julio Cortázar’s 1963 novel Hopscotch . The experience of playing the game is marked by postmodern literary features – as described by critics like Mikhail Bakhtin or Linda Hutcheon – including metafiction, intertextuality and parody.

One of its creators – Davey Wreden, a critical studies graduate – also created The Beginner’s Guide (2015), a game in which the player moves through levels of failed video games to learn more about their mysterious creator. In one, the player’s task consists solely of wandering through a virtual cave reading the countless comments left there by other frustrated players.

In recent years, the genre of digital or electronic literature has emerged, including books with QR codes, works that can only be read with virtual reality headsets, poetry collections published as apps, and so on. These works are fundamentally based on language, begging the question of why video games cannot also fit into this category.

This debate takes on added relevance today, as digital formats are having an undeniable impact on our reading habits. Just as today we accept oral cultures or popular music as literature, perhaps one day we will do the same with interactive stories like The Stanley Parable . Writing has always tried to break away from established ideas, and we know that literature is not limited to words on paper. Sometimes it pays to disobey the voice in our heads and walk through the door on the right, the one that leads to new, unexplored possibilities.

This article was originally published in Spanish

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