The Paradoxical Nature of Love and Higher Being
             Over many centuries, the concepts of love and the discovery of "a higher being" have been mysteries to man. Both ideas have been discussed, analyzed, and disputed by various authors and philosophers. In the ancient past, love and discovery of a higher being have been thought to be primarily positive concepts, experienced only by those who are truly comfortable with their lives and situations. However, beginning in the mid- twentieth century, various poets, and other artists began expressing their emotions from a more vivid, realistic point of view. Love and the search for a higher self were found painful, and strange at times. Both concepts were achieved as a result of searching the soul and finding some type of truth concerning the individual. Various artists realized that in order to achieve or even experience these concepts, one must first experience negativity to grasp the depth of either. Throughout the poem "In a Dark Time" by Theodore Roethke and the song "I Want You" by Bob Dylan, one can easily recognize the paradoxical nature of both love and discovery of a higher self.
             Throughout Bob Dylan's love song, "I Want You", there are two paralleled yet very different themes that reign. Dylan describes numerous sad and contemptible situations, which are also valid aspects of life. He writes, "The guilty undertaker sighs,/ The lonesome organ grinder cries/.../The drunken politician leaps/ Upon the street where mothers weep/ I want you". All of the situations described are the exact opposite of the love that he feels for this person. However, the two contrasting emotions go together very well when describing Bob Dylan's deep love. They are each equally desperate and beseeching; one, from a lover to reciprocate his love, and the other to stress the urgency of the times. Bob Dylan continues to parallel these t...