Why Bob Dylan Matters by Richard F. Thomas (review)

In “Early Roman Kings” (from the album Tempest), echoing Odysseus’ taunt to the Cyclops in Od. 9.523–24, Dylan sings: “I can strip you of life/ Strip you of breath/ Ship you down/ To the house of death”—lines from a song about ancient Rome’s kings and/or the 1960s–1970s New York gang “Roman Kings.” Across “Tin Angel,” “Narrow Way,” and “Pay in Blood” (also from Tempest), Dylan scatters five verses from Odysseus’ speech to his Phaeacian detractor during the discus-throwing contest (Od. 8.166–185)—a speech appealing to Dylan, an older man silencing his younger critics with his superior expertise.1 Thomas also demonstrates how (on the Latin side) Dylan incorporates in his songs reminiscences of Catullus, Vergil, and Ovid, his kindred spirits. When Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, Swedish Academy Secretary Sara Danius compared his verses to those of Homer and Sappho.