Dylan’s Nobel Prize Ten Years On: The Position of Song Lyrics within Literary Scholarship

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Modern Approaches in Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2026

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Dylan’s Nobel Prize Ten Years On: The Position of Song Lyrics within Literary Scholarship

Dr. Javier Soto Zaragoza

ABSTRACT:

In 2016 the literary world was shaken when the Swedish Academy decided to award the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan, a songwriter. That award constituted a milestone: it not only confirmed that song lyrics can be regarded as literature, but also that they can constitute high-quality literature worthy of the highest recognition. Dylan’s Nobel provoked dissent within literary scholarship, but also considerable support. Now, ten years later, it is an apt moment to take stock and review its effects. This conference paper proposes a state-of-the-art review to assess the current condition of literary-musical studies, asking, among other questions, what the field looked like before Dylan received the Nobel, what (if anything) has changed in the intervening decade, and what developments may be expected in the future. Given the breadth of the topic and the limited time available, these questions will be examined primarily through the example of literary scholarship in Spain, where the study of relations between music and literature has gained significant prominence.

Keywords: Literacy; Literary Genres; Music and Literature; Songwriting; State of The Art