to think Taylor Swift is our century's answer to William Shakespeare

[beastlyslumber]

She's such an incredible storyteller and lyricist (and her songs are ridiculously catchy. It's all about the hooks.) Listening to her album 'folkore' this afternoon - she wrote two whole albums in lockdown, you know. And they're both great, but 'folklore' is insanely good. As she moves away from autobiographical writing into character stories, her storytelling is getting even more emotionally direct, and even more fun. She's a total genius. Even on the rare occasions when her hooks and melodies don't grip you, her lyrics always get right to the heart of things.

If there's any justice in the world, Ms Swift will still be celebrated in 500 years for her original, moving, funny, perceptive and subversive writing.

YANBU = Obviously! She is the Bard of Pop
YABU = WTF? She's way better than Shakespeare

The scene in the kitchen, she is upset because he's ignored her, pushed her away and not included her in the conversation. She's younger than all his friends and felt insecure, needed his reassurance. So she's upset. His reaction is not to listen and discuss with her, but to tell her she's being selfish, that dropping her hand was such a non-event that he can't even remember doing it (the clear implication that she's petty/self-obsessed to have even noticed it - or maybe it didn't even happen) and he blows up with anger in response to her upset, which tells her she isn't safe to express these emotions and thoughts with him, he's going to get angry and start threatening ("I can't..." suggesting he can't tolerate this, hinting he's going to have to end it because her emotions are so unreasonable.)

So, instead of listening and saying, hey I'm sorry you felt left out, I guess I was so caught up with my friends I didn't notice. I hate that I've hurt your feelings, please forgive me, and let's meet up with my friends again and I'll make sure you feel more part of it next time, he's invalidated her feelings, made her feel like she's being stupid and selfish, made her feel like this is all her fault, let her know that he won't tolerate any negative emotions or questioning from her about his behaviour, and threatened, or at least hinted, that he'll end the relationship if this goes on. And in the end, he uses her age (which she's already insecure about, and has tried so hard to prove to him isn't a problem, because she can be a grown up and do adult things/cope with the adult world etc) as a reason to dump her, and an excuse for why he didn't treat her properly. I.e. it was all her fault.

You might not agree with that analysis @Nevermindthefurball but please tell your DD that this is how many women see that situation playing out and her feelings about this man's behaviour are very valid and shared by many others, even if you yourself don't feel that way.

And I really, really, really hope that she does something even more powerful with Dear John.

@beastlyslumber

The scene in the kitchen, she is upset because he's ignored her, pushed her away and not included her in the conversation. She's younger than all his friends and felt insecure, needed his reassurance. So she's upset. His reaction is not to listen and discuss with her, but to tell her she's being selfish, that dropping her hand was such a non-event that he can't even remember doing it (the clear implication that she's petty/self-obsessed to have even noticed it - or maybe it didn't even happen) and he blows up with anger in response to her upset, which tells her she isn't safe to express these emotions and thoughts with him, he's going to get angry and start threatening ("I can't..." suggesting he can't tolerate this, hinting he's going to have to end it because her emotions are so unreasonable.)

So, instead of listening and saying, hey I'm sorry you felt left out, I guess I was so caught up with my friends I didn't notice. I hate that I've hurt your feelings, please forgive me, and let's meet up with my friends again and I'll make sure you feel more part of it next time, he's invalidated her feelings, made her feel like she's being stupid and selfish, made her feel like this is all her fault, let her know that he won't tolerate any negative emotions or questioning from her about his behaviour, and threatened, or at least hinted, that he'll end the relationship if this goes on. And in the end, he uses her age (which she's already insecure about, and has tried so hard to prove to him isn't a problem, because she can be a grown up and do adult things/cope with the adult world etc) as a reason to dump her, and an excuse for why he didn't treat her properly. I.e. it was all her fault.

You might not agree with that analysis @Nevermindthefurball but please tell your DD that this is how many women see that situation playing out and her feelings about this man's behaviour are very valid and shared by many others, even if you yourself don't feel that way.

YES TO ALL OF THIS

Yes, it’s a great example of learning to trust your own emotions.

@SummaLuvin

The idea you had of me Who was she? A never-needy, ever lovely jewel Whose shine reflects on you Not weeping in a party bathroom Some actress asking me what happened You That’s what happened: you

You, who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes
Sipping coffee like you were on a late night show
But then he watched me watch the front door all night willing you to come
And he said “it’s supposed to be fun…
Turning 21”

Just coming back to this thread to say: THIS!

This lyric is fucking unreal. Love what she did with this song. Amazing to think she was only 21 when she wrote this. G E N I U S .

Love this post! Been a fan of Taylor since I was 14, im 27 now. She's incredible. Laughing at all these people scoffing at you - her eras tour is one of the most famous tours in history! Can't deny she's a global superstar ⭐️

She’s a malignant narcissist. Perhaps The Bard was too.

“my covert narcissism
I disguise as altruism
like some kind of congressman”
I think she beat you to it in Anti-Hero…

IMO She’s incredible. Maybe it was referenced above but an actual professor of Shakespeare wrote an article in the Times how much he admires her lyricism and storytelling and how she is our Bard for the modern age!

I'm loving all the tour content on YouTube at the moment! And 'you're losing me' - wow. Love how she's made Midnights this ever-evolving work of art. She's a genius.

Have you come across the Evolution of a Snake podcast? Two TS fans who slate her for her narcissism while celebrating her brilliance. Well worth a listen!

@skilikeagirl it's been a while since this thread happened but it's probably in here somewhere!