In her literature era: The literary links sprinkled into Taylor Swift's music

Ahead of the Eras Tour, Marjorie Brennan looks at the literary allusions in Taylor Swift's songs

SWIFTIAN: The world’s biggest pop star likes to slip in references to the history of literature in her music. Picture: Andre Dias Nobre/AFP via Getty Images

American and English universities offer courses on her songwriting, while her diehard fans parse every lyric of every song but there is no denying that Taylor Swift knows her literature, sprinkling references to plays, poems and books throughout her lyrics. It has even been reported that she is a distant relative of the poet Emily Dickinson. Swift will be right at home when she lands in Dublin, a city with no shortage of literary links and home of her namesake Jonathan — there is no evidence of them being related but following the recent revelation that she is a Derry girl, who knows? Here, we look at some of the literary allusions in her songs.

The Outside 

In an early indication of her lyrical talent, Swift alluded to the well-known Robert Frost poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ in 'The Outside', which features on her self-titled debut album. Written when she was only 12 years old, it conveys the sense of feeling isolated by her schoolmates: “I tried to take the road less travelled by/But nothing seems to work the first few times, am I right?"

The poem is also referenced in the tracks 'Illicit Affairs' (“Take the road less travelled by /Tell yourself you can always stop”) and '’Tis the Damn Season' (“And the road not taken looks real good now”) on her acoustically-driven albums Folklore and Evermore.

The Lakes 

In this Folklore bonus track, Swift writes about seeking solace from the unrelenting pressures of fame in the Lake District, a location that provided inspiration to the Romantic poets, including Wordsworth, who is also referenced in a play on words referring to her lyrics.

“…I’ve come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze / Tell me what are my words worth.” 

Swifties have surmised that the ‘namedropping sleaze’ refers to Scooter Braun, the record executive who tried to engineer a lucrative buyout of Swift’s master tapes — prompting her masterstroke move to rerecord them one by one.

The Albatross 

Taylor Swift . Picture: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File

Unsurprisingly, given its title, there are literary allusions aplenty on Swift’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department. In this bonus track, she channels the Bard himself: “a rose by any other name is a scandal” mirroring the line where Juliet tells Romeo: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” The title would appear to once again refer to the weight of fame, not only on Swift but her romantic partners, most recently her ex Joe Alywn and her current beau, NFL player Travis Kelce. Another obvious literary echo is Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge, in which a sailor shoots down an albatross, which he is forced to wear around his neck, precipitating his descent into madness.

Love Story 

Shakespeare’s doomed lovers feature once again in one of Swift’s most enduring tracks, from the album Fearless: “You were Romeo, you were throwin’ pebbles/ And my daddy said, ‘Stay away from Juliet’.” In Swift’s scenario, the song has a happy ending for the thwarted young lovers in the guise of a marriage proposal. Also referenced is The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne: “I was a scarlet letter” — Swift is being shamefully labelled for her transgressive love.

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things 

In this song from Reputation, it would appear that Swift is comparing herself to the titular protagonist of The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, enjoying throwing parties for her friends: “feeling so Gatsby for that whole year.” However, this is before someone ruins it all: “So why'd you have to rain on my parade?”: the guilty parties here are widely perceived to be Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, with Swift referring to the ramifications of West storming on stage when she was receiving a VMA in 2009. The Great Gatsby also features in the song 'Happiness' from Evermore about the end of a relationship: “I hope she’ll be a beautiful fool / Who takes my spot next to you”, echoing Daisy Buchanan’s famous words about her daughter in the book: “she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”, and perhaps their double-edged meaning.

Cardigan 

Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

In the lead single on Folklore, which was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the Grammys, Swift alludes to Peter Pan by JM Barrie in the context of a teenage love triangle: “I knew you / Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy”. The book is also directly referenced in 'Peter', one of The Tortured Poets Department anthology tracks, where she sings: “Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life; said you were gonna grow up then you were gonna come find me”. Swifties immediately began to speculate that this was a reference to the singer’s romance with Matty Healy of The 1975.

Invisible String 

One of Swift’s finest love songs, this Folklore track is a heartfelt account of the singer’s relationship with the English actor Joe Alwyn, portrayed through the metaphorical connection of the title. “And isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?” This most obviously references Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, when Mr Rochester finally pronounces his love for Jane: “I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you — especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame”.

There is also the echo of the closing words of Ernest Hemingway’s wartime love story, The Sun Also Rises: “Oh, Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together.” “Yes.” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” 

The Tortured Poets Department 

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, singer and writer Patti Smith, and the Chelsea Hotel, the famous New York hangout of the literary set, all get a shoutout in the title track of Swift’s latest album, also believed to be about Matty Healy: "You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith/This ain't the Chelsea Hotel/ We're modern idiots.” Thomas, a heavy drinker, was staying in an apartment in the renowned hotel before his death aged 39 in November, 1953. Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids is also referenced on the track 'loml' on the same album: "We embroidered the memories of the time I was away/Stitching, ‘We were just kids, babe’.”