Socio-critical Analysis of Bob Dylan as a Protest Poet in the 60s

Abstract

During the 60s, there was a revolutionary transformation in North-American society that was born of a counter-culture that reacted against the fictitious happiness of the “booming” 50s, during which the economy of the country doubled, unemployment rates fell, and wages were high. However, the panorama for black people was not so successful. They were still a marginalized community under white male supremacy. Many people also protested against the war hegemony of the country and its participation in injudicious wars. Bob Dylan was one of the spokesman for the anti-war movement and for the new generation claiming for liberty, equality and peace. Dylan is widely acclaimed not only as a protest singer, but a protest poet. Many of his songs have become anthems. This paper explores Dylan’s work from this dual perspective of the singer-poet standing for the protests of an entire generation of people in the US and the emergence of popular culture within the literary canon.