Bob Dylan's style

Bob Dylan's style seems slightly reminiscent of the "speak-singing" quality of veteran actor, Rex Harrison. If anyone has seen My Fair Lady, Harrison doesn't sing outright, but rather raises or lower his pitch to the music. His means of singing is more like speaking in the background of music. Although Dylan's manner of singing is slightly more lyrical, he still maintains a "speak-singing" quality. According to the second part of the article, "Songs, Poems, and Rhymes", Dylan considers himself "a poet first and a musician second." He seems to undermine the importance of music to his song and is not particularly fastidious about what instrument is used and how it is conveyed. It seems like he simply uses what he has at his disposal simply because "[he'd] rather get something out of the song verbally and phonetically than depend on tonality of instruments." But I disagree. Music is immensely important because it sets the mood and feeling that the lyrics seeks to express. If there were no musical background, there would be no songs, only poems. But as mentioned before, Dylan considers himself first and foremost a poet. He relies on the literary aspect of music by having his listeners focus on the message in his lyrics rather than the background.