By Hussein Atoui | Staff Writer
Back in February 2024, Taylor Swift announced The Tortured Poets Department, her eleventh studio album. From the title and the black-and-white cover, fans immediately sensed that it would be her most poetic and personal album to date. Many speculated that it would focus on her six-year relationship with her ex-boyfriend, whom they believed was “the one.” However, when the standard album was released, Swift surprised fans by unveiling a double album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, expanding the track list to 31 songs.
To everyone’s surprise, the album wasn’t solely about her long-term relationship. Instead, it also delved into her brief few weeks of romance with one of her closest friends following her initial breakup, adding another unexpected layer to the album’s themes. Known for her songwriting and lyricism, Taylor Swift crafted The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) as a reflection on the devastation of losing six years with the wrong person – only to then lose her best friend as well. Through its poetic storytelling and deeply personal lyricism, the album captures the weight of emotions we often struggle to articulate, making the personal feel universal.
Beyond the Lyrics: Analyzing the Depths of The Tortured Poets Department:
The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) opens with the track ‘Fortnight,’ the first single of the album. Written about her short-term relationship with Matty Healy, her best friend since 2014, the song reflects on their long-standing mutual feelings. Though they both liked each other for years, nothing serious happened between them until after her breakup with Joe Alwyn. They entered a relationship that lasted for two weeks. The song captures the theme and imagery of the American Dream and how it was perceived by them. What’s particularly interesting is that she used the British term ‘fortnight’ as a metaphor referring to the American Dream, which could imply that the idea of marriage, having kids, and living ‘happily ever after’ was a façade all along. Additionally, the use of ‘fortnight’ might suggest she hasn’t fully gotten over her past with the British ‘jail’ – in this case, her ex-boyfriend Alwyn, who is British and whom she associated with London in TTPD.
In the second verse, Swift begins with ‘All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February,’ and continues with, ‘I took the miracle-move on drug, the effects were temporary.’ These beautifully written lines describe her feelings of being trapped in a six-year relationship, as though she were stuck in a prison. She believed that Matty Healy would be the one to free her from that confinement, a theme she also hints at in her song ‘Fresh Out the Slammer’ on TTPD. By ‘miracle-move on drug,’ she means that falling for and being with someone else would save her, but instead, it only made things worse. The fleeting relief she sought through this new relationship turned out to be temporary, just like the effects of a drug, leaving her still trapped in her emotions. Then, following these lines with ‘I love you, it’s ruining my life,’ shows how she wanted to move on, but she’s afraid she never will because she loved him, and in the end, he betrayed and ghosted her.
The song speaks to the depression she felt after being ghosted by the man she had feelings for for years and believed was the only person who truly understood her. It showcases how this short-term relationship left her feeling worse than her six-year long-term relationship, primarily because of the ‘what could’ve been.’ This theme flows into another song on the album, ‘Guilty as Sin.’ The song describes the feeling of being trapped in a dying long-term relationship while daydreaming about being with someone else, believing it would make her happier, and then questioning whether or not she’s guilty. The song uses the imagery of being stuck in a maze, with lines like ‘My boredom’s bone deep. This cage was once just fine. Am I allowed to cry?’ followed by ‘I dream of cracking locks.’ These lyrics present the feeling of someone who is over something but still unsure or unable to let go.
In her third track, ‘My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,’ Swift plays on the role of the
‘sickest army doll’ who was saved by someone, only to end up being broken again. She sings, ‘I’m queen of sandcastles he destroys,’ which possibly references how easy it is to build and break sandcastles, comparing them to a temporary love – just like building and abandoning a sandcastle on a beach. In one of her lyrics, ‘Rivulets descend my plastic smile,’ she highlights the sadness she feels, referencing the toy theme that runs throughout the song. This song is genuinely written about heartbreak and losing someone you really cared about, and thought would be the one, perfectly metaphorizing an on-and-off relationship with a player who keeps breaking your heart over and over again. It’s like buying a toy, playing with it, getting bored, and then throwing it away.
In conclusion, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) is a brilliantly written album which explores a variety of themes including heartbreak, loneliness, and self-discovery. This article examined a small portion of the heartbreak theme, highlighting the meanings behind these songs and how certain lyrics were used to convey their messages. It also explores how TTPD captures the weight of emotions we often struggle to articulate, making the personal feel universal through the use of unique metaphors and ideas.