Introduction

It is probably no surprise to anyone who has read my blog that I love two people very much: Taylor Swift and William Shakespeare. While these two loves might seem extremely different from each other, they are actually more similar than one might think. For a project during my freshman year of college, I assigned each of Taylor Swift’s albums to a Shakespearean play. Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite pairings to show you the similarities between one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite musicians.

Fearless and Romeo and Juliet

Both Fearless and Romeo and Juliet discuss some of the challenges of exploring young love. In Swift’s song “Fifteen,” the narrator (who is assumed to be Taylor Swift herself) reminiscences about when love feels simple. She states “’Cause when you fifteen / And somebody tells you they love you / You’re gonna believe them” which calls attention to Taylor Swift’s fantastical look on love during this age. Juliet and Taylor Swift share their age and idealized views on love here. When Romeo confesses his love, Juliet completely believes him without ever having a conversation with him. Juliet also admits that “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and unknown too late!” (i.v.152-153). Juliet believes this love is the only love that she will have, and it happens extremely early in her life. The play and the album discuss young love as beautiful but also not founded in reality. 

In both the play and the album, the relationships deteriorate until there is nothing left. In one of the last songs of the album titled “Forever and Always,” Taylor Swift describes the end of the relationship. She sings, “So here to everything / Coming down to nothing”. This young love fails and ends in a broken, bleeding heart for Taylor Swift. While there is hope at the beginning of both the album and the play, both end in tragedy. The final lines of the play state, “For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (V.ii.320-321). Romeo and Juliet commit suicide themselves in the end because they each believe that the other has abandoned them in death. Young love has led to pain and suffering in Fearless and Romeo and Juliet.  

Speak Now and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Speak Now is an album about speaking your mind when it comes to love even when it is difficult which is a theme that both main couples in A Midsummer Night’s Dream can connect with. In Taylor Swift’s song “Speak Now,” she tells the story of a young woman stopping the wedding of her ex-boyfriend because she still loves him. She begs “So don’t say ‘yes’, run away now / I’ll meet you when you’re out / Of the church at the back door”. This song directly connects to Hermia and Lysander running away to be together when Hermia is promised to Demetrius. Lysander reveals “Gentle Hermia, may I marry thee / And to that place the sharp Athenian law / Cannot pursue us” (I.i.163-165). Lysander and Taylor Swift are both speaking their minds and doing what needs to be done to keep their true love, even if that means stopping a wedding. 

Taylor Swift’s song “Enchanted” reflects many of the same messages as “Speak Now” just later in the album. The song “Enchanted” is about a young woman who does not want to lose the love of her life to another woman. Upon meeting this man, Taylor Swift says “This is me praying that / This was the very first page / Not where the storyline ends”. Helena repeats this message when she pursues Demetrius into the woods. Helena remarks “I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell / To die upon the hand I love so well” (II.i.250-251). Taylor Swift and Helena are attempting to keep their love alive and both women are hoping for a future where they can be together with the men that they love. 

Lover and Much Ado About Nothing

After all the heartbreak, Taylor Swift built Lover as a homage to finding the love she believes she deserves and how that relationship is special. Much Ado About Nothing is also a discovery of love after hardship and pain. Taylor Swift’s “Paper Rings” depicts a relationship that is not perfect, although the couple is happy together. The song states, “Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws / We wouldn’t be standing here so tall”. Hero and Claudio’s relationship follows the same pattern. Claudio slanders Hero, although the two come out much stronger in the end. Hero states, “And when I lived, I was your other wife, / And when you loved, you were my other husband” (V.iv.61-62). Hero calls attention to the fact that Claudio has wronged her, but that does not mean that she is not willing to forgive him. She continues to love him even with his mistakes, which is what Taylor Swift does in “Paper Rings”. 

Taylor Swift’s “Daylight” is also about a couple who has had their issues and decided to stay together and work through the issues that were separating them. Taylor Swift states that they “threw out our cloaks and daggers because it’s morning now / It’s brighter now”. Beatrice and Benedick also experience the fight to obtain a happy, healthy relationship. Beatrice expresses “Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu! / … I will requite thee, / Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand” (III.i.115 and 117-118). Here, Beatrice decides that she will stop fighting her love for Benedick and instead, she will work with him to enter a relationship that will make them happy. Taylor Swift and Beatrice allow themselves to embrace the love they feel and work through issues with their lovers. 

Folklore and The Winter’s Tale

Folklore tells the story of healing and finding beauty after pain, which is what happens to many of the main characters in The Winter’s Tale. The beginning of the album includes songs like “the last great american dynasty” which tells the story of a wife who ruined her family. Everyone blames the wife and says, “she had a marvelous time ruining everything” but the wife defends herself by blaming “their men and bad habits”. This connects to Leontes’ belief that Hermione is cheating on him without any evidence. He states, “Be it concluded, no barricade for a belly” (I.ii.252-253). This quote points to Leontes’ assumption that his wife is cheating on him but also his destructive nature that caused this jealousy. “the last great american dynasty” and this scene points to the fact that men’s problems can negatively affect the women in their lives. 

The ending of the album takes a bit of a turn toward healing. “this is me trying” is a song about a woman who is trying to be better. Taylor Swift sings, “And I just wanted you to know / That this is me trying (Maybe I don’t quite know what to say)”. There is an attempt at righting wrongs, which Leontes tries to do at the end of the play. When Perdita and Florizell come to his kingdom, Leontes declares, “The blessed gods / Purge all infection from our air whilst you / Do climate here!” (V.i.208-210). Leontes hopes that the arrival of the couple will heal old wounds, and he is willing to try and make things right. In the song and the play, there is a hope of healing, especially with Hermione coming back to life and the narrator’s mental health improving. 

Bibliography

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Fearless by Taylor Swift

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Speak Now by Taylor Swift

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Lover by Taylor Swift

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare

Folklore by Taylor Swift