Wednesday 9 February 2022

Nature is our greatest teacher

BOB DYLAN AND ROBERT FROST

Hello readers! This blog is a response to an assigned blog by Vaidehi Haryani m’am. This blog is connected to the study of Bob Dylan and Robert Frost, two American icons who have won hearts through their songs/ poems.

Bob Dylan and Robert Frost use the nature elements as a metaphor to give the philosophy of life in the same way. In this task we have uploaded a video in our YouTube channel in which we have merged self-clicked shots from nature and in this blog will try to bring out our philosophy of life through this video.


“BY ALL MEANS LEARN BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IN THE END, THAT'S ALL THAT WILL MATTER.”
-Gossy Ukanwoke

Learning is effective only in the four walls of the classroom is unjustified. For this task we visited the lake side, ‘Bortalav’ in Bhavnagar where nature can be adored the best.


Bob Dylan:


Bob Dylan whose born name was Robert Allen Zimmerman he was born on the 24th may 1947 and is still alive with age of yours 18 Years 80 he is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all the time he is American singer and songwriter and a major figure of popular culture.

He has won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 with citation, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." He is the first one who won the Nobel Prize for writing songs. He was also awarded Pulitzer in 2018 with special citation, “for his profound impact on popular music and American culture marked by lyrical composition of extraordinary poetic power.” He has won various awards including ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’, ‘Ten Grammy Awards’, ‘a Golden Globe award’ and ‘an Academy Award.’

His most famous songs are of the 1960s. His songs like ‘blowin’ in the wind’ (1963) and ‘The times they are a changin’ (1964) are considered to be the anthems for the Civil rights and Anti-war movement.

Lets just go through his few songs:

Blowin’ in the Wind (1962)
Listen and read the lyrics of the song. (hyperlinked)

This song has been described as a protest song, self-expressing and showing reality. It possesses a series of rhetorical questions to mankind regarding their conscious ignorance of inhuman activities, racism, discrimination, peace, war and freedom, brutal cruelties of the 20th century. ‘ The answer my friend is blowing in the wind’ Through this line Dylan suggests that the solution is simply staring us in the face.

All along the Watchtower (1968)
Listen and read the lyrics of the song.

This song initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding and it has been included on most of Dylan's subsequent greatest hits compilation. Think this song is raising the voice against corruption and privilege. He has described the characters through ‘The Thief’ and ‘The Joker’ and it seems that the Joker is wiser as he is able to see the truth of the world.

Like A Rolling Stone (1965)
Listen and Read the lyrics of the song.

This song is considered to be a Revolutionary song. It is about the loss of Innocence and the harshness of experience. The title of the song The Rolling Stones is taken from the proverb ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’. This song suggests the benefits of moving on. Moving on is the only solution to safeguard oneself from being destroyed by society and their taunts.


Robert Frost:


Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His lifespan is from 1874 to 1963. His works are known for the depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He wrote about the setting from rural New England in the early 20th century and the themes in his work were social and philosophical. Robert Frost mostly used the theme of nature for giving philosophical and social messages.

He has received four Pulitzer prizes for poetry and was honored during his lifetime. Robert Frost was a poet Laureate of Vermont in 1961 and was also nominated for the Nobel Prize Prize in Literature 31 times.

Let us go through his few poems for understanding Robert Frost’s work

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (1922)
This poem is well known with name ‘Miles to go Before I sleep’.This poem reflects the thought of a driver who is the narrator who paused in the Woods to watch a snowfall and end reminding himself that despite he loved that view he had many promises to keep and miles to go before he sleeps. The theme in this poem is about affirming a path of life and fulfilling the promises.

True meaning of this poem is about the importance of our choices. It doesn't matter whether the choice is big or small since they shape our journey of life. This poem also deals with making the right decisions at the right time which offers the profound perception of decision-making. In this poem we can conclude that taking the Less traveled by suggested if you choose the path which is less traveled it has a great risk.


The poem “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost is a metaphor for human perceptions of desires and hatred. The two elements force of Fire is representation of an emotion of Desire and eyes with hate it is the Frost for best-known and most anthologized poem. This poem tells about the end of the world. Its theme is revolving around that the human emotions are destructive.

Here we saw that the natural elements like Woods, Road, fire and ice are used as a metaphor to give the philosophical and social messages of the life.

This is my video prepared by merging some of the nature photos of nature and the shots. I have given a sequence to the shots in this video, I am Presenting my interpretation over this video's numerically.



1. Through my first shot I would like to interpret that the water evaporates in summer and it rises in the monsoon but when none of the process happens it is steady in its place still the waves on the surface of the water continue. It suggests whether in a life we are Rising or we are facing a fall or we are steady. We should continue our work. We should not be changeless, we should keep trying to change our position and work hard.

2. In the second shot of my video we see that a tree has grown in the bricks. It is the back part of the room that very strongly suggests that if one wants to grow in their life and wants to achieve anything there is nothing which can stop them.

3. In the third part the camera is viewing water and sky in the same frame which is of the same shade and in the between we see a small line of buildings or world. Through this I interpret that the beginning and the ending of a life are the same. There is a small period in which we get a chance to prove ourselves. we should work hard to achieve our goals in this small period of life where the beginning and the ending of the life is similar.

4. The fourth frame shows the motto of NCC institution working in our nation which is unity and discipline it seems like human needs and institution which teaches them about the unity and discipline, through immediate next two photos we see nature, so disciplined that Woods grow itself in a specific manner the river floors in the same path put together by it. So more than an institution, nature can teach us discipline and unity in a better way.

5. Through the fifth short I would like to interpret that nature is beautiful and calm and we are the ones who are spoiling the place around it. Similarly we are the only ones to be blamed for destroying our life. Nature provided water for us and we are spoiling it similarly this is our life and we are the one responsible for any deed.

6. And the last frame of the video shows the clean water. Through this I would like to pass a message to stay pure inside and out. One should not have any grudges for anyone forgive and forget is the best mantra to live life happily.


The lyrics I have used in my video is as below:

I'm just glad to be here, happy to be alive
And it don't matter if you're by my side
I'm satisfied
Well, it's alright, even if you're old and grey
Well, it's alright,


These lyrics put forward the idea of being happy in every situation one is in. it doesn't matter where one is, he/ she should be glad, happy and satisfied. ‘It's alright”. The whole song is End of the Line by Traveling Wilburys. But I have selected these lyrics from it.

I find these lyrics selected by me relatable to the poem of Robert Frost ‘Road not taken’ poem. The traveler chooses the road which is less traveled and when one tries to do something new or goes on the path which is rarely chosen by others it seems to be risky so the one who is trying to do something new moving over the path which is less traveled this lyrics are relatable to him that he must be glad for where he is, happy that he is alive even after choosing the road which is less traveled and is risky for him and should be satisfied with the choice he has made whether the choice done by him is old but it's alright cause it's his own personal choice not influenced by others.


Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. This blog is a complete self-interpretation. If you find anything to add or have any queries please comment below.

[words- 1657]

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