Pink Floyd : an exploration of literariness

Abstract

The following dissertation attempts to explore literariness in the lyrics of the band Pink Floyd. The first chapter focuses on the context of post-war Britain in the late sixties and seventies which saw the emergence of subcultures and the collapse of social classes. Due to the radical changes in society and the disillusionment with the Establishment, non-traditional types of texts started to emerge which were considered to be anti-institutional. These texts found their voice by publishing through the Underground Press. Among the big names in the Underground Press there are the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie. The second chapter subjects the lyrics of some of the songs to a literary analysis from a Formalist approach and by applying Northrop Frye’s’ Theory of Myths’. As will be seen, the use of ‘archetypal imagery’ can be found across the band’s oeuvre and there are many intertextual links to influential poets and authors across different periods. The third and final chapter looks at the inspiration, mainly of Roger Waters and of the concept album, The Wall. Inspiration has been interpreted differently from the classical period up to the modern day, but definitely in Waters’s case, it is the anguish and pain of losing his father in the Second World War and the lack of closure and justice which is manifested in his music and lyrics. Although literary characteristics are present throughout the lyrics, it is ultimately still very difficult to define what it is that makes a text literary.