Harvard Students Analyze Taylor Swift’s New Album in English Class
Fans of Taylor Swift are known for diving deep into her music, analyzing lyrics and song titles for hidden messages and meanings. But at Harvard University, a group of students took their Swift studies to a whole new level by enrolling in an English class entirely dedicated to the pop star.
The undergraduate course, titled “Taylor Swift and Her World,” is taught by Stephanie Burt, who has her students comparing Swift’s songs to works by poets and writers such as Willa Cather, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth.
Recently, about 50 students from the class gathered in a lecture hall on campus to listen to Swift’s new album. The room erupted into applause when the clock struck midnight, signaling the album’s release. The students listened intently, taking in the music before diving into a detailed analysis.
Certain lines in the songs immediately caught the attention of the students, sparking discussions and comparisons to classic literary works. For example, one student noted similarities between the song “Clara Bow” and Willa Cather’s novel “The Song of the Lark,” both exploring themes of ambition and pursuing dreams.
Another student drew parallels between the song “But Daddy I Love Him” and Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy,” focusing on themes of sadness, depression, and mental health. The students delved deep into the lyrics, dissecting the connections between Swift’s personal experiences and the larger themes of her music.
As the night went on, the students eagerly awaited the release of an additional “volume” of 15 tracks called “The Anthology.” Despite the late hour, they stayed up to listen and discuss the new music, drawing comparisons to various literary genres and styles.
Overall, the students found Swift’s new album to be thought-provoking and rich with meaning. They discussed their interpretations and brainstormed ideas for their final papers, which are due at the end of the month.
In the end, the students concluded that Swift’s music transcends traditional pop songs, with some tracks having a spoken-word quality that could easily be mistaken for poetry. They marveled at the depth and complexity of Swift’s lyrics, speculating on the creative process behind each song.
For these dedicated fans and scholars, Taylor Swift’s music is not just entertainment – it’s a source of inspiration and intellectual exploration. And as they continue to dissect and analyze her work, they uncover new layers of meaning and significance, solidifying Swift’s status as a true artist and poet in her own right.
