All’s Fair in Love and Poetry: A Review of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department

              Taylor Swift, the timeless American singer-songwriter has provided the soundtrack to our early childhood memories and narrated our coming-of-age stories through her numerous album releases. Now, she has released yet another album—the longest one to date—gifting us with an anthology of 31 records in total. The album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, is jam-packed with themes of love, loss, self-deprecation, fame, and betrayal—a heartbreakingly honest narration of her personal and public life throughout her rise to unprecedented levels of fame in recent years.

              Having experimented with different musical genres and production styles over the course of her career, this album is arguably one of the most conceptually complex. Produced by Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who collaborated with Swift on her previous albums such as 1989, Evermore, and Midnights, Swift opted to combine the lyrical quality and narrative style of Folklore and Evermore with the sonic elements recognizably reminiscent of her synth-pop albums, 1989 and Midnights.

              Swift produced “Fortnight,” the single that previewed the album, in collaboration with American rapper and singer Post Malone. The song featured an almost seamless harmony between the two artists, layered with Antonoff’s signature production styles. The single was complimented shortly after with a music video starring Swift and Malone, artistically executed to match the lyrics with monochromatic visuals and an asylum-like setting. Additionally, with dozens of easter eggs being scattered throughout the short video, fans began rapidly speculating about the message of the song, in predictable Swiftie fashion. Notably, the video featured a cameo from Dead Poets Society actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, a nod to the mysteriously similar title of the album.

              Fans were surprised by the number of songs hinting at her brief, yet tumultuous relationship with The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy—with tracks revealing snippets of their on-and-off love affair. Healy was featured in tracks such as “Guilty as Sin” and “Daddy I Love Him,” wherein Swift sings: “God save the most judgmental creeps/Who say they want the best for me.” These biting lyrics are likely a stab at her own fanbase, who were adamantly against the singer’s relationship with Healy.

              Prior to the album’s release, tracks such as “So Long London” and “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” were highly anticipated by fans, due to their references to British movie star Joe Alwyn, whom Swift dated from 2016 to 2023. “So Long, London”’s position in the album as track five—a spot typically reserved for the most gut-wrenching and heartbreaking song within a Swift album—even had fans speculating whether the song would reveal the story behind her and Alwyn’s mysterious breakup. Indeed, “So Long, London” describes the couple’s tumultuous break-up, and Swift eventually “abandons” her hope of rectifying their relationship, as shown in the lyrics, “I stopped trying to make him laugh/ Stopped trying to drill the safe.”

              However, not all of the tracks in the album were limited to Swift’s past romantic relationships; for instance, “Clara Bow” alludes to the challenges that women often face in the entertainment industry, with Swift singing, “take the glory, give everything.” Swift’s commentary on the replicability of women in the music industry is reflected in many of Swift’s past works, notably with the release of “Nothing New,” a vault track on Red (Taylor’s Version).

              Moreover, two of the album’s tracks, “ThanK You aIMee” and “Cassandra,” seemingly contain references to Swift’s past feud with Kim Kardashian. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a priestess who had the ability to tell the future, but Apollo’s curse prevents anyone from ever believing her.  In “Cassandra,” Swift draws parallels between herself and the doomed priestess, as she sings, “So they killed Cassandra first because she feared the worst/And tried to warn the town/So they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say/Do you believe me now?” ​​

               Despite this album’s focus on heartbreak, sadness, and self-deprecation, more positive tracks document Swift’s recent high-profile relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce. The two, having only dated for just over six months, seem to be happy in their relationship, with captivating tracks such as “So High School” and “The Alchemy” illustrating Swift’s contentment and genuine happiness that she unexpectedly found in the quiet aftermath of her breakup with Alwyn. The lyrics, reflective of their lighthearted relationship, demonstrate how Kelce is able to alleviate the burden of her popstar status whilst recognizing and respecting the extent of her fame.

              Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the album as a whole, and the ups and downs of the narration—reflective of Swift’s tumultuous and unpredictable life. The Tortured Poets Department truly demonstrated Taylor Swift’s ability to transcend genres and themes, reinforcing her position as one of the best in the music industry.