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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'
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.
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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'
324 views0 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.
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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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Fear itself: Inaction in Fearless
Taylor Swift Scholar investigates whether Taylor Swift is actually fearless in the song fearless. Spoiler: she's not.
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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.
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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.
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See the Light : Love as Mutual Sight in Invisible
In Invisible Swift thus reemphasizes the point she made in I’m Only Me When I’m With You. Love, like friendship, is knowing and being known.
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Better Together: Knowing and Being Known in I’m Only Me When I’m With You
In IOMWIWY, friendship is the cycle of one self reifying and being reified by another self through the effortful exchange of knowledge.
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