On The Post-sixties Narratives In Bob Dylan's Ballads

Bob Dylan is widely recognized as a cultural spokesman of the United States in the 1960 s.As a witness to the turbulent social movements of that era,Dylan's most important ballads are full of narratives of major historical events of the time,that is,Post-Sixties narratives.Therefore,the study of these discourse mechanisms of Post-Sixties narratives is conducive to the in-depth revelation of the aesthetic and cultural value of Dylan's ballads.By sorting out all the albums and singles released by Dylan since his debut in the 1960 s,this study selects 66 of the most representative,most popular and most influential ballads.The author classifies,analyzes and interprets the Post-Sixties narratives in these ballads.In addition to adopting theories from classical narratology,this thesis pays more attention to using the relevant theories of post-modern historical narratology to interpret the three representative Post-Sixties narratives in Dylan's ballads: anti-war narratives,Civil Rights narratives,and counterculture narratives.By analyzing the narrative motivation,rhetorical devices and modes of emplotment in these narratives,this study holds that the Post-Sixties narratives in Dylan's ballads provide rich tropes for the later ballad creation and even literary creation.More importantly,these narratives shaped the American collective memory and the structure of feeling of American,as well as Western society,and criticized contemporary American society and its culture.Therefore,Dylan's Post-Sixties narratives have become a special paradigm of contemporary American cultural criticism.This research will give us a more objective,comprehensive,and in-depth understanding of the literary and cultural value of Dylan's ballads.