Bob Dylan & Robert Frost

Hello!

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MK Bhavnagar University English Department. Today In this blog I am going to answer some of the questions regarding Bob Dylan and Robert Frost’s works. One of the  interesting things about my department is that after completing a particular unit from the syllabus, the respective faculty gives us thinking activity. It will help us to enhance our thinking skills. 

Q.1 Which Bob Dylan song has made an impact on you? Why? Can you find a song similar to the same theme in another language?

Answer :

About Bob Dylan:

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author and visual artist. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career spanning nearly 60 years.

In 2016 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. 

MY favorite song by Bob Dylan is’ Like a rolling stone’ .

Lyrics

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?

People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall'

You thought they were all kidding you

You used to laugh about

Everybody that was hanging out

Now you don't talk so loud

Now you don't seem so proud

About having to be scrounging your next meal

How does it feel, how does it feel?

To be without a home

Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Ahh you've gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely

But you know you only used to get juiced in it

Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street

And now you're gonna have to get used to it

You say you never compromise

With the mystery tramp, but now you realize

He's not selling any alibis

As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes

And say do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel, how does it feel?

To be on your own, with no direction home

A complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Ah you never turned around to see the frowns

On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you

You never understood that it ain't no good

You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you

You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat

Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat

Ain't it hard when you discovered that

He really wasn't where it's at

After he took from you everything he could steal

How does it feel, how does it feel?

To have on your own, with no direction home

Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people

They're all drinking, thinking that they've got it made

Exchanging all precious gifts

But you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe

You used to be so amused

At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used

Go to him he calls you, you can't refuse

When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose

You're invisible now, you've got no secrets to conceal

How does it feel, ah how does it feel?

To be on your own, with no direction home

Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

 

 

Why do I like this song the most ? 

 

In this song  I have something like ‘ Fairy Tales’. The writer talks about one girl. The theme of the song is danger of living potential life. Going along with the crowd and not treating anybody appropriately. In the beginning portion we came across one woman. 

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?

We can see that the writer talks about one lady and her life experiences. This song expressed resentment rather than love. Mr. Lonely as the protagonist addresses. She had attended a great school and lived a great life but she lost so many things for her own freedom. 

Somewhere this song is for all women who want to live life full of liberty and passion. 

Song somewhere has the same thing: 

 I Want to Break Free by Freddy Mercury:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ

Lyrics

I want to break free

I want to break free

I want to break free from your lies

You're so self satisfied I don't need you

I've got to break free

God knows, God knows I want to break free.

I've fallen in love

I've fallen in love for the first time

And this time I know it's for real

I've fallen in love, yeah

God knows, God knows I've fallen in love.

It's strange but it's true

I can't get over the way you love me like you do

But I have to be sure

When I walk out that door

Oh how I want to be free, Baby

Oh how I want to be free,

Oh how I want to break free.

But life still goes on

I can't get used to, living without, living without,

Living without you by my side

I don't want to live alone, hey

God knows, got to make it on my own

So baby can't you see

I've got to break free.

I've got to break free

I want to break free, Yeah

I want, I want, I want, I want to break free

 

 

Q.2 Which poem of Robert Frost has made an impact on you? Why? 

Answer : 

My favorite poem by Robert Frost is that  ‘ The Road Not Taken’

About Robert Frost :

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States.

He won four Pulitzer prizes for his poems. 

2.) The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Why I like this poem the most :-

Have you ever faced a situation where you have two options and you have to choose one without knowing about any of them ?

Or 

We can say You are going into some forest and suddenly you come across two ways and you have to choose one and you have no idea about any of them. 

Answer is yes, because each and every human finds the same situation in their entire life. Life so many times gives us two paths or two choices. 

Ex. After passing 10th we have three paths for our journey.

The same theme this poem consists of. The speaker of the poem passes through the forest and he has to choose one way out of two. He might not be aware of any of them. He has a great dilemma for choosing one way. In the last part of the poem we come to know that the speaker talks about the future and after choosing one path he will say which path he has chosen was less chosen . 

This poem is quite similar with all and every human. That’s why I like this poem the most.

Thank you…..