In the song The Death of Emmett Till, American musician Bob Dylan appeals to an audience's pathos with concrete descriptive language, and a melancholy music tone to evoke viewers' emotions. Through concrete and descriptive lyric, Bob Dylan sung about the death of Emmett Till with animated details, going as far to include the events that occurred after his death. Bob Dylan's detailed description of the "screaming sounds [of Emmett Till] inside the barn...[and] laughing sounds out on the street," creates an imagery of the Till's painful death, and suggests that Emmett Till's tortured death was purely for the killers' enjoyment. Bob Dylan also illustrates the death of Emmett Till, singing that the killers "rolled his body down a gulf amidst a bloody red rain," and "they threw him in the water wide to cease his screaming pain." These vivid details and imagery of how Emmett Till was murdered inflicted the emotion of pain and sorrow in the audience and cried for the unjust of the trial when the killers were later declared innocent. The music tone also buttressed the song's effort to evoke the viewer's emotions by allowing the viewer to fully engage in the lyric with the flowing tone. The background beats are fast but not overwhelming, which brings out the slower singing and permits the viewers to focus more on the lyrics. The whole song is in a minor key, which has a more sorrowful sound and induces similar glum emotions in the viewers. Bob Dylan's appeal to pathos in his song allowed him to steer his audiences' emotions and allowed him to appeal specifically to his audiences' imaginative sympathies, letting them glimpse into the same emotions that he had when composing this song.
-Ruoping Li
Most music should find a way to appeal emotionally to it's audience, Bob Dylan does a great job at finding topics that string an emotional chord among listeners. Your mention of minor key, tone, and imagery all accentuate the idea of pathos playing a great role in the reception of music by society.
ReplyDeleteDylan's use of disturbing visual imagery was impactful to the listener in that those descriptions stick with a person. The contrast between the fast background music and slow singing voice is also moving, as it draws attention to the fact that the words are truly somber and horrific. In general, I believe that pathos is a crucial element used throughout "The Death of Emmett Till" to successfully impact the audience.
ReplyDeleteSarah Neydon
Music's main modern usage, particularly in films, is purely to convey emotion. I think that this is exactly what is happening here. Bob Dylan uses the gift of music to force the people listening to feel something about an issue so far removed from them in order to make them care.
ReplyDeleteMusic's main modern usage, particularly in films, is purely to convey emotion. I think that this is exactly what is happening here. Bob Dylan uses the gift of music to force the people listening to feel something about an issue so far removed from them in order to make them care.
ReplyDeleteMusic is a great example to look at pathos. It has a way of affecting your emotions. Bob Dylans choice in writing the song in a minor key allowed the reader to understand the sorrow the song portrays. Pathos in music allowes for the reader to also connect with the story's, the fell for it because they relate to it.
ReplyDelete-Swati Adipudi