In a 2012 interview following the release of his album, Tempest, Bob Dylan claimed that in the 1960’s, after the death of a man named Robert Zimmerman (like him before he became Bob Dylan), he became a different person; he was «transfigured» and that is the reason why he has had such a long career and still makes successful records. Dylan’s use of the term, «transfiguration», has a decidedly Christian overtone which should be investigated in a different context. However, it may also work as a credible description of his creative process. During his whole career, and especially in the latest phase, from 1997 until now, Dylan has indeed «transfigured» the legacy of American folk and pop music. From an aesthetic point of view, transfiguration may be indeed a more appropriate description of what Dylan has done in the last twenty years than appropriation, stealing, or even plagiarism.

KEYWORDS: Bob Dylan, Plagiarism, Appropriation, Transfiguration, Tempest.