The construction of the text, the production of multiple personae and the construction of the self on Bob Dylan's album, Blood on the tracks

The construction of the text, the making of multiple personae and the construction of the self on Bob Dylan's album, Blood on the Tracks. Using arguments by theorists such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva and, more importantly, Mikhail Bakhtin, I examine the plurality of discourses on Bob Dylan's album, Blood on the Tracks. This thesis investigates the polyphonic nature of discourses in the form of text, personae and self construction. I argue that the above-mentioned areas of focus are inscribed with a variety of connotations because, ultimately, they rely on intertextual references. This implies that no author can claim sole ownership of a work because all works are made up of a "issue of quotations". I argue this point in reference; not only to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, but also to the personae he created over the course of his 50-year career. Dylan's personae also influenced many of the characters he created in his songs. They often allude to each other and contribute to the plural way in which his work can be read. Dylan's personae and the self he projects, intentionally or unintentionally, prove to be problematic because it can be read in contradictory ways. I argue that the polyphonic nature of his text, his personae as well as the self he projects (through his lyrics) decentralises Dylan's intentions and places the reader at the centre of the text. The aim of this thesis is to highlight how Dylan's text is constructed as well as the plural ways in which his personae and the self can be interpreted. Through this I wish to show how central the reader is to meaning-making.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Erfort, Michael David

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Haupt, Adam

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14143

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/14143