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Alison Baker r((/

Professor Worth Weller

English 110 Writing Through Literature

February 28, 2007

Bob Dylan's Political World

Bob Dylan first began performing poetry in the fonn of rock music in 1961 and

was considered to be part of the Beat generation. However, there was one song in

particular that made it evident of Dylan's existence in that time period. The track entitled

Political World, which is found on Dylan's 1989 album Oh Mercy, has been defined as

his "comeback" (Dylan 141). Although the record was released much later than many

works presented by the "Beats," it still had many of the same qualities as the prior novels,

poetry, and songs written in that time. Political World is essentially a satirical poem in

music form.

Dylan's poem, if one may call it that, consists of the typical four-line stanzas

known as a quatrain. Quatrains are the most common stanzaic form in the English

Language and vary in their meter and rhyme schemes (Meyer). Throughout Dylan's

poem there is no consistent rising or falling meters. There is also no discernable

reoccurring pattern to the number of syllables within the stanzas themselves. However,

the first line in each stanza is the same phrase, ''we live in a political world." Throughout

Dylan's song, the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme, keeping in line with the

iambic pattern of the English language. For example, the second line, "love don't have

any place" and the fourth line, "and crime don't have a face" demonstrates Dylan's use of

the iambic pentameter.

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Dylan established the tone and themes for his song by beginning each stanza with

"we live in a political world ." It is on this phrase that Dylan wanted his listeners to focus-:»:

and reflect upon. His wish was for the audience to connect with each line and relate it to

the world they were living in during the late 1980' s. His desire was to not only make the

public aware of how politically centered and unjust the world was, but the public's role as

well.

Throughout the course ofhis song, Bob Dylan makes numerous references to

demonstrating the unjust crimes and offenses that take place allover the world. At one

point, Dylan uses the lines "we're living in times where men commit crimes/and crime

don't have a face" as a testament to the many crimes and unknown criminals throughout

the world. Criminal activity was becoming a commonplace, without criminals or suspects

to go along with it. No one knew who was involved in all the criminal activity, or "crime

don't have a face." Dylan also let it be known how the world was not open to change or

improvements through the line "wisdom is thrown into jail." Those living in the late

1980's were not open to change or new, original ideas and consequently turned down

innovative ideas that could have changed their generation.

Another reoccurring reference in Dylan 's song revolved around the idea that

people were becoming obsessed with themselves and ignoring those around them. This is

addressed in the fifth stanza when Dylan notes that "children are unwanted/the next day

could be your last ." The first part of this phrase was a reference to China's laws for how

many children a family could have and on the increasing number of abortions. The

second part referred to how people only care about themselves and not about the well­

being of others around them. This theme was also present in the eighth stanza as "under

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the microscope/you can travel anywhere and hang yourself there." The first segment

pointed out that no one was keeping watch on you; you were your own authority for

yourself. The next line goes on to say that no one will notice one hanging oneself. The

last time this theme is mentioned is in the last stanza when Dylan points out "everything

is hers or his." Dylan intentionally did not use "ours" because he felt that people had

stopped sharing, even with their significant other. This dominant theme was placed in the

song to illustrate how the world was concerned with themselves and no one else.

Bob Dylan demonstrated this theme of selfishness by using individuals as his

examples. The individual is used as a symbol for the world as a whole . It was not just the

individual who was obsessed with himself either; governments, cities, states, and

countries only cared for themselves. Granted, cities and states within the United States

thought they were better than each other for reasons such as being the home to a celebrity

or other renowned figures. The United States as a whole thought of themselves as the

political power of the world and placed themselves above everyone else because they

possessed the best government. Even though it was not explicitly said, this becomes the

underlying theme of the song.

Although Dylan was, and still is, considered to be one of the best rockers of all

time, he should also be known as an excellent poet. He used many elements present in

poetry including stanzas, quatrains, and a rhyme scheme. However, the most important

element in poetry is the use of symbols that have a deeper, fuller meaning of something

bigger and better. Bob Dylan did an excellent job of doing just that in Political World. He

put the objective of his work right out into the open by using it as the title and then

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making use of everyday happenings to make the listener realize what he meant by living

in a "political world."

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Works Cited

Dylan, Bob. "Bob Dylan." Chronicles 1 2004 141. 22 Feb. 2007

<http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&1r=&id=uNOCw5vWakC&oi=:fnd&pg=

PA141&sig=VInUxyTZSQ4ZLabvTijaCxM18hA&dq=bob+dylan+poetry#PPA1

41,M1>.

Meyer, Michael. Thinking and Writing about Literature: A Text and Anthology. Second.

Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.