Highway 61 Revisited resonates because of its enduring emotional appeal. Few songwriters before Dylan or since have combined so effectively the intensely personal with the spectacularly universal. In "Like a Rolling Stone;" his gleeful excoriation of Miss Lonely (Edie Sedgwick? Joan Baez? a composite "type"?) fuses with the evocation of a hip new zeitgeist to produce a veritable anthem. In "Ballad of a Thin Man;" the younger generations confusion is thrown back in the Establishments face; even as Dylan vents his disgust with the critics who labored to catalogue him. And in "Desolation Row;" he reaches the zenith of his own brand of surrealist paranoia; that here attains the atmospheric intensity of a full-fledged nightmare. Between its many flourishes of gallows humor; this is one of the most immaculately frightful songs ever recorded; with its relentless imagery of communal executions; its parade of fallen giants and triumphant local losers; its epic length and even the mournful sweetness of Bloomfields flamenco-inspired fills. In this book; Mark Polizzotti examines just what makes the songs on Highway 61 Revisited so affecting; how they work together as a suite; and how lyrics; melody; and arrangements combine to create an unusually potent mix. He blends musical and literary analysis of the songs themselves; biography (where appropriate) and recording information (where helpful). And he focuses on Dylans mythic presence in the mid-60s; when he emerged from his proletarian incarnation to become the American Rimbaud. The comparison has been made by others; including Dylan; and it illuminates much about his mid-sixties career; for in many respects Highway 61 is rock n rolls answer to A Season in Hell.
#740676 in eBooks 2014-06-26 2014-06-26File Name: B00LFAQGL6
Review
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Hopefully; this is not the best translation....By Marilyn M. McBrideI believe there are better translations out there. This one was rather plodding.I wish would publish the name of the translator as well as the author right up front for its Kindle editions -- one cannot see who the translator is until one has purchased the book -- at least when buying online here. Very frustrating.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Get a grip; !By SJVMSeth Scheins commentary on the Greek text of the play (the Cambridge "green and yellow" volume illustrated by the side of the heading) is totally different from this much older translation which is what you appear to get when you click on the actual heading. needs to get a lot more accurate on this kind of thing; because its extremely misleading to unwary students and others!9 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Sophocles on the citizens responsibility to the stateBy Lawrance Bernabo"Philoctetes" takes place near the climax of the Trojan War. The title character has the great bow of Hercules; given by the demi-god on his pyre to Philoctetess father. A member of the Achaean expedition that sailed to Troy; Philoctetes was making an altar on an island along the way when he was bitten by a snake. His cries of pain were so great that he was abandoned by his shipments; under the orders of Odysseus; and marooned on the deserted island of Lemnos. Alone and crippled; Philoctetes used the great bow to survive for the ten years the Achaeans have been fighting against Troy. During that time his hatred against the Achaeans in general; and Odysseus in particular; has grown.Meanwhile; back at Troy; Odysseus and the other Achaean chieftains have learned from an oracle that Troy will fall only with the help of Philoctetes and his bow (a juicy tidbit it certainly would have been nice to have known eight or nine years earlier). Odysseus and Neoptolemus; son of Achilles; are sent to bring Philoctetes and his bow back to the war. Of course; Odysseus dare not show himself to Philoctetes and sends Neoptolemus to do the dirty work. Neoptolemus gains the confidences of the crippled man by lying about taking him home. During one of his agonizing spasms of pain; Philoctetes gives his bow to Neoptolemus. Regretting having lied to this helpless cripple; Philoctetes returns the bow and admits all; begging him to come to Troy of his own free will. Philoctetes refuses and when Odysseus shows his face and threatens to use force to achieve their goal; he finds himself facing a very angry archer.In "Philoctetes" Sophocles clearly deals with the balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of society. But this is also a play about citizenship and the need for the idealism of youth to be give way to the responsibilities of adulthood. In fact; this lesson is learned both by Philoctetes; who is taught by the shade of Hercules who appears to resolve the tenses conclusion; and Neoptolemus; who finds his duties at odds with his idealized conception of heroism based upon his father. Although this is a lesser known myth and play; "Philoctetes" does raise some issues worth considering in the classroom by contemporary students."Philoctetes" is similar to other plays by Sophocles; which deal with the conflict between the individual and society; although this is a rare instance where Odysseus appears in good light in one of his plays; usually he is presented as a corrupter of innocence (remember; the Greeks considered the hero of Homers epic poem to be more of a pirate than a true hero); but here he is but a spokesperson for the interests of the state. Final Note: We know of lost plays about "Philoctetes" written by both Aeschylus and Euripides. Certainly it would have been interesting to have these to compare and contrast with this play by Sophocles; just as we have with the "Electra" tragedies.
