top of page
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'
Swift's Theology of Noise Music in Our Song
In Our Song, noted music theorist Taylor Swift grapples with the question “What is Music?”
Should've Said Know: Swift's Socratic Masterpiece
Swift, a Platonic philosopher, transforms a story of infidelity into a brilliant illustration of the Socratic idea that Virtue = Knowledge.
Featured Posts
Search
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.
241 views
0 comments
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.
196 views
0 comments
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]...
127 views
0 comments
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.
286 views
0 comments
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.
88 views
0 comments
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.
658 views
0 comments
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.
153 views
0 comments
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.
322 views
0 comments
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.
187 views
0 comments
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).”
348 views
0 comments
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.
287 views
0 comments
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.
204 views
0 comments
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.
897 views
0 comments
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.
1,396 views
1 comment
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'
342 views
0 comments
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.
375 views
0 comments
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...
485 views
0 comments
Fear itself: Inaction in Fearless
Taylor Swift Scholar investigates whether Taylor Swift is actually fearless in the song fearless. Spoiler: she's not.
402 views
0 comments
I Knew Everything When I Was Young: TS01 Full Analysis
Taylor Swift introduces herself to the world through a collection of songs that consider the nuances of what it means to know.
396 views
0 comments
A Perfectly Good Heart: Heartbreak or Brainbreak?
Through A Perfectly Good Heart, Swift thus illustrates how the human body is altered at the end of a relationship.
94 views
0 comments
All Posts
CONTACT
bottom of page