Blowin’ in the Wind
By Bob Dylan
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the windYes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the windYes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ‘til he knows
That too many people have died?The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Summary of Blowin’ in the Wind
- Popularity of “Blowin’ in the Wind”: Written and sung by Bob Dylan, the song “Blowin’ in the Wind” first appeared in 1962 and brought inestimable fame for the creator. He later released this single song in his popular album, the Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963. Since then, the song has set various records. Although the poem/song just poses innocent questions, there lies a deep and ironic reality behind these questions. Interestingly, the entire popularity of the poem rests on this series of questions.
- “Blowin’ in the Wind” As a Representative of Human Apathy: Although the song comprises various questions with a refrain of the line “The answer…” it presented various serious issues before the readers. The issue is although everybody sees that there is a problem, nobody comes forward to take action to address it. Dylan has rather started the song with the manly title that a person either wins or loses. However, he equates this victory or failure to that of a dove or a cannonball, questioning how many times a dove tries or how many times a cannonball is fired before both reach their destinations.
This strain of the song continues with questions of the washing of the mountains and the existence and pretension of the people with the same answer of “blowing in the wind.” The reality, however, appears in these questions in the final stanza about man’s achievements, problems, and deaths. The answer is still the same. In fact, Dylan wants to state that man faces various issues, problems, and crises and argues that all are man-made, but nobody pays attention until all of them come to a grinding halt and make everybody realize what is wrong. - Major Themes in “Blowin’ in the Wind”: Apathy of mankind, ignorance of reality, and criminal neglect are three major thematic strands of this song. Although Dylan mentions some natural issues, the answers of which lie in them, the issues that mankind faces are genuine. And they are resolvable only when the man pays attention to them, but the main issue still persists who will bell the cat or who will come forward to resolve issues. Nobody comes forward to take the final action. This shows that man is mostly ignorant of the reality that others around them are suffering from apathy and willful neglect of the issues. This criminal negligence does not touch the cords of the high-ups but makes life hell for others.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Blowin’ in the Wind
Bob Dylan uses various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Anaphora: It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated in the beginning of the verses. The poem shows the use of “The answer” and “Yes, and” as anaphora.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “How many roads must a man walk down” and the sound of /o/ in “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /h/ in “his head.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly” and the sound of /s/ in “Before she sleeps in the sand?.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Bob Dylan uses imagery in this poem such as “Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist”, “Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head” and “Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head.”
- Irony: It means to the contradictory meanings of the words used in different contexts. The song shows the irony that natural questions whose answer nobody can give have been given parallel to the questions related to man.
- Rhetorical Questions: It means to pose a question not to elicit an answer but to stress the main idea. The song shows the use of rhetorical questions, such as;
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as a dove, sand, cannonballs, mountain, and even people, are symbols of problems and issues.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Blowin’ in the Wind
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows very good use of informal and poetic diction with contractions.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABCBDB rhyme scheme in the first stanza with the refrain of “The answer” where it is wind/wind or AA.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem, with each comprising six verses, also known as sestet.
- Repetition: It is the repetition of words or phrases or even verses for impact. The poem shows the use of “The answer…” repeated several times in the poem.
- Refrain: It is the repetition of a verse or two verses after successive stanzas. These verses have been used as a refrain in the poem.
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote about governmental apathy.
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ‘til he knows
That too many people have died?