It is always going to be a matter of personal opinion when it comes to what is and isn't a good song but at least 'for me' the idea that he has only written three or four songs that were either excellent or fairly good is a far bigger joke than him receiving any award. If I could have written dozens of the songs Dylan wrote then I'd be a very happy bunny.

Also the idea that the judges were idiotic and maybe didn't know what they were doing doesn't hold water either. Again all down to taste but as has been previously mentioned Andrew Motion shortly after he became Poet Laureate gave a lecture in which he claimed Dylan was one of the greatest artists of the 20thC and was the writer of the greatest song lyrics ever written. Again all down to taste but are we really going to state that Motion is an idiot for believing that? That one of the most respected modern poets doesn't know anything about verse?

Likewise the idea that lyrics aren't good "if they are unclear as regards meaning" doesn't wash either - it is only personal preference. More obscure verse or abstract verse is a recognised form. In fact in response to Motion's lecture on Dylan the other respected poet Dannie Abse commented that Dylan's work was song lyrics rather than poetry because it was too rational

"For me song lyrics should have something rational about them. That is what distinguishes them from written poetry, which, I think, has something of the irrational about it,"

So I suppose if respected poets can't agree on Dylan then why should we expect old blokes on mudcat to do so???

All in all though I pick up The New English Book Of English Verse which classes itself as "the established classic anthology of English poetry" and it is littered with verse that was written to be sung so the defining line between song and poetry is not as clear as some would suggest. The obvious examples in it are ballads like "Tam Lin" and "Mary Hamilton" but also Burns' song lyrics like "My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose" and "John Anderson". It is not new to regard certain song lyrics as part of the poetry canon.