If Dylan isn't in in the same ballpark as Yeats, it's because they're not playing the same game. Of course, both are working with language. But Yeats is writing for the page, where the music must inhere in the words themselves or be lost. Dylan has the benefit and limitation of writing for, or along with, music. And there is also the emotional element brought by a singing voice. Both are impressive artists, in their own way.
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