Bob Dylan is described as one of the most startling, prolific and controversial contemporary song-writers. This book explores the complexity and subtlety of his lyrics and their themes, seeking to make intelligible that seems obscure and difficult. The author reviews the manner in which many of Dylan's lyrics treat fundamental questions concerning the nature of human identity. He argues that these lyrics represent a continuation of the experimental poetic practices of modernism. At the heart of Dylan's work are the discrepancies between the conscious, socialized self, born of language, and those potencies of personality that lie outside rational formulation. For Dylan, identity is multiform and bizarre, resisting attempts to resolve the disjunction between conscious and unconscious dimensions of mind or to distinguish absolutely between light and dark forces in the personality. Through close readings of lyrics from the whole of Dylan's career to date, this book offers insights into the force and meaning of the works. An appendix outlines the course of Dylan's career and lists his officially released recordings.