Light’s Out: Astrothesia of the Self in We Were Happy
In We Were Happy, Swift reflects with sadness on what it means to play the role of a setting sun in someone else's life.
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What's in a Name: Antonomasia in Mr. Perfectly Fine
Swift has clearly not forgotten Mr. Perfectly Fine yet, but she claims power for herself by replacing his name with twenty-eight sick burns.
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Goo All Over Me: Dirty Metaphors from the Vault
In the metaphors and similes in You All Over Me, Taylor Swift paints an increasingly grim series of portraits of herself after a breakup.
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Both an Entrance and an Exit: Derridean Deconstruction in The Other Side of the Door
Swift says “I might tell you that its over but if you look a little closer…” Like Derrida, she believes that language must be deconstructed.
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Shall I Compare Thee to a Superstar: Astrothesia in Taylor Swift
In the tradition of great sonneteers, Swift poetically indulges in her yearning for an unattainable love interest she has put on a pedestal.
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Rain, Rain Don’t Go Away: Passive Risk-taking in Come in with the Rain
The Basics Taylor Swift’s relationship is in trouble and she is too tired to fix it! Instead of making an effort, “[she’ll] leave [her]...
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Meet me at Midnight: Liminal Time in Untouchable
Untouchable is the first time that the words “middle of the night” or “midnight” appear in a Taylor Swift song.
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We Have Liftoff: Avoiding Hard Landings in Jump Then Fall
Swift explores the experience (and the idiom) of “falling in love” by repeating the phrase “jump then fall” in the chorus.
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I’ve heard there was a secret chord that Taylor sang: Biblical genres in Change
In Change, Taylor Swift consolidates Biblical techniques and a Biblical shout of celebration to create the ultimate anthem of hope.
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Ode on a VHS Tape: Ekphrasis in The Best Day
Swift’s use of ekphrasis to describe a home video elevates this domestic scene to the realm of high art.
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I Remember it All Too Well: Eyewitness Testimony in Forever & Always
In Forever & Always, Swift begins to explore a theme that she will perfect in her magnum opus All Too Well.
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Your Love is My Drug: Withdrawal Symptoms in The Way I Loved You
In The Way I Loved You, Swift describes her past relationship as if it were a psychedelic drug and she is now experiencing withdrawal.
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Words Mean Nothing: The Nihilist Semiotics of You're Not Sorry
Swift, a nihilist semiologist, emphasizes how words can be emptied of meaning by saying “You’re not sorry no no no (no).”
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Tell Me Why Breaking Up is Sometimes Better Than the Alternative
Swift addresses all six dimensions of wellness (physical, emotional, occupational, intellectual, spiritual and social) in Tell Me Why.
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Love as Life Support: Breaking up Biological Function in Breathe
In Breathe, Taylor Swift describes cessation of biological function at every level – from her whole body to her organs to her very cells.
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She says how she feels, I say nothing: Communication styles in You Belong with Me
Swift’s tour de force You Belong with Me repurposes and perfects themes that she excavated earlier in her oeuvre.
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I’m not mad I’m just disappointed: Deconstructionist autocriticism in White Horse
In White Horse, Taylor Swift negates the fairy tale tropes of Love Story. She erases the relationship and writes herself a new role.
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Saint Stephen I just wrote you a paean: Signifier and signified in Hey Stephen
Swift, a philosopher of language, explores the relationship between a name and what it signifies by fully exploring the meaning of 'Stephen'
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Happy Ending or Tragedy Impending? Metafictional Reflection in Love Story
While appearing to celebrate a Love Story, postmodernist poet Taylor Swift uses metafiction to subtly critique the genre.
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Wisdom of the Elders: 18yo Swift recalls being Fifteen
The Basics In Fifteen, a wizened Taylor Swift addresses her fifteen-year-old self. Now eighteen, Swift has acquired the wisdom that comes...
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