In this thesis, I examine Roland Barthes's essays on music in order to explore the relationship between the musical and linguistic elements of the contemporary popular song. I argue that what song lyrics appear to "say" bears no relation to what they "mean." Rather, meaning resides in the act of engaging with the popular song. First, I analyze the four main phases of Barthes's thinking in order to provide a basis on which to explore his work. Second, I provide an in-depth study of his essays on music. I then critique the literary approach to song analysis through an examination of selected writings on Bob Dylan. Finally, I explore U2's song "Numb" and Beck's "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" in order to illustrate the notion of engagement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.27935 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Burnett, Maija. |
| Contributors | Marchessault, Janine (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of English.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001616223, proquestno: MQ37195, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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