“All’s fair in love and poetry,” wrote Taylor Swift, announcing her album The Tortured Poets Department on Instagram. After the album’s release, can it really be said that her poetry is fair, or was that first statement only an excuse to expose personal details of past relationships?
On Friday, April 19, at midnight EST, Taylor Swift released her 11th and most anticipated studio album. When the clock struck “AM” on billions of devices across the globe, no speaker was spared from the musical notes of The Tortured Poets Department. At that moment, every listener became a critic, and every fan began scribing notes. Here is what OVS thinks:
“I’ve loved Taylor Swift since I was young, and it’s really cool to see how she has become a better lyricist,” said senior Alula Alderson, “I feel like her lyrics have become deeper, and this album does sound a lot like poetry, which is as she intended.” Unlike past hits like “Shake it Off” or “ME!” almost every song in her new albun has advanced vocabulary and mature themes.
Not only do her lyrics utilize poetic literary devices, but the title track even mentions famous poets and writers Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith. Every lyric has a heavy and thought-provoking meaning, something that many young fans aren’t used to getting from Swift.
Ms. Whipple said, “I think people are missing some of the larger points. She makes a lot of poetic and classical literature allusions in this album, and I think those are going over people’s heads, and they are not understanding the full impact.”
This is one of Swift’s first albums to address adult struggles in an entirely revealing way. There is no sugarcoating or lightheartedness, just raw and unfiltered honesty.
Swift exposes herself in the song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” by writing about a darker side of her experience performing. The beginning lyrics read, “I can read your mind; She’s having the time of her life; There in her glittering prime; The lights refract sequined stars off her silhouette every night; I can show you lies.”
Although Swift has written about unverified events–specifically in relationships–in other albums, The Tortured Poets Department is much more about the singer herself. Most of the songs now talk about hardships and recovering from the afflictions of her past.
Not only did Taylor Swift release the 16-song album, but just two hours after the initial release, she released 15 more songs, 31 total–the most new songs she has ever released in one night.
It has taken the internet lots of time to identify metaphors and decode hidden messages in each song, but that truly is the fun of this album. The Tortured Poets Department wasn’t curated for toddler birthday party backtracks or so teenage boys could roll their eyes in Target when another pop ballad plays. This collection of songs is for poets, writers, creative minds and Swift herself.
With almost 20 years in the industry, Taylor Swift has earned the right to explore new genres of music and experiment with her words. The question really is, is the world ready for it, or more accurately, is it ready for this version of her?