6.02 Taylor Swift’s Literary World
With Taylor Swift currently on her epic Eras Tour, I thought it was a great opportunity to revisit Swift’s oeuvre. Today I’m talking about some of my favourite songs on Midnights, how they draw on storytelling tropes, and how Taylor Swift has created her own literary world. I hope you enjoy!
Listen here
The Recommendations
Anti-Hero / Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, published 1818
You’re On Your Own, Kid / Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
Vigilante Shit / Sweet/Vicious (2016-2017)
Mastermind / This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, published 2019
Other References
Anti-Hero
The story of Medusa taken mostly from Natalie Haynes’ Pandora’s Jar, published 2020
You’re On Your Own, Kid
More recommendations:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, published 1890
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published 1925
Mean Girls (2004)
Vigilante Shit
The trope of the vengeful ex-wife features in:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published 1938
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, published 1847
Medea by Euripides, c. 431 BCE
The subverted narrative: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, published 1966
Another recommendation: Promising Young Woman (2020)
Mastermind
Media about scheming lovers (drama)
Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, published 1782
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Media about scheming lovers (comedy)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
She’s All That (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Cover artwork is by Ashley Ronning
Ashley’s Instagram, website, and printing studio website
