03 September 2022
Newsdesk
The University of Texas in Austin is set to introduce a new course based around the songs of Taylor Swift, entitled “The Taylor Swift Songbook”. Focussing on Swift’s work in the context of literature, rather than popular culture, the course is intended to provide an introduction to discussions surrounding the literary stylings of poets such as Keats, Coleridge and Shakespeare.
You would think the lyrical content of pop songs would be too sparse to construct an entire course around it: upon first listen, the subject matter of Swift’s most popular songs appears to consist of themes regarding adolescence, heartbreak and the City of New York.
However, upon closer inspection, Swift’s songs reveals a multitude of literary devices so numerous that you could (ironically) fill a book with them: Recent albums “Evermore” and “Folklore” are an exercise in storytelling, with the latter culminating with the tale of heiress Rebekah Harkness in “Mad Woman”, an indirect reference to a popular, if problematic trope seen throughout literature and pop culture.
A diverse cast of other characters appear in her music; most prominently, an experimental foray into varying perspectives with the triptych of songs, “Cardigan”, “Betty” and “August”, telling the tale of a teenage love triangle.
There’s the re-release of “All Too Well”, ostensibly another account of heartbreak and loss as portrayed in a large number of Swift’s songs.Yet the lyrics, which were previously discarded and left on the cutting room floor during the original recording, are a significant departure from the catchy, hook-laden stylings of albums like “1989”.
The fine details throughout, such as the photo album and the left-behind scarf might not be thought of as particularly significant in isolation, but against the sweeping backdrop of an epic 10-minute ballad, they become literary devices heavy with symbolism instantly recognisable to anyone who has experienced love and loss. Then there’s the similes: Swift sings about being “broken like a promise”, and refers to her charismatic, feckless ex “sipping coffee like (you’re) on a late-night talk show”.
While purists might balk at the use of Swift's work alongside literary greats, it’s a refreshing departure from traditions of literary studies where pop music tends to be viewed as frivolous. Much like the multiple perspectives of “Cardigan”, “Betty” and “August” Swift’s voice offers both an alternate perspective and an access point for students new to literary studies.
Speaking in and interview on the UTA website, course leader Professor Elizabeth Scala said:
“I want to take what Swift fans can already do at a sophisticated level, tease it out for them a bit with a different vocabulary, and then show them how, in fact, Swift draws on richer literary traditions in her songwriting, both topically but also formally in terms of how she uses references, metaphors, and clever manipulations of words.”
UT Austin isn’t the first university to launch a course of this variety: in addition to this (and their previous course on Harry Styles), a previous course on Swift ran at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute in addition to a module entitled “Beyoncé, Gender and Race” at The University of Copenhagen. The Taylor Swift Songbook will be held at the University of Texas Austin this fall.
