Mapping Bob Dylan’s mind
Essay published in Aeon magazine. Visit ArXiv for the full paper.
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I construct a Knowledge Graph from Dylan’s lyrics (1962–2012).
Here is example for one of my favourite songs "Jokerman"
I tracked the evolution of key themes over time – from protest/political to mythic/biblical and movement/travel.
The trends align closely with pivotal moments in Dylan’s career.
Next, I mapped transitions between different concept types (like person → abstract) and color-coded them by sentiment.
This alluvial diagram uncovers the emotional dynamics woven into Dylan’s lyrical connections.
Dylan’s lyrics shift from literal expression to an increasingly metaphorical style over the decades.
This trend highlights his growing reliance on symbolic, emotionally charged language in his 70s.
Finally, by measuring the variance in eigenvector centrality, I quantified “dishabituation” – the mix of mainstream vs. peripheral concepts.
The mid-career peak reveals Dylan’s most eclectic and disruptive phase. Note, this is relative to his dishabituation state in the 60s.
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