#i kinda want to do a tier ranking or something of literary allusions in Taylor Swift songs | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

queenlucythevaliant · 7 months ago

Text

If I weren't so familiar with "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," I think I would be able to appreciate "The Albatross" off the new album a whole lot more. Like, "peace" is a top three song for me off folklore and I just love the conversation those two songs are having, the storytelling choice to use third person, some of the instrumentation. But she does the least interesting possible thing with the allusion.

It's super clear that Taylor hasn't actually read the Rime and is just going off the general cultural idea of what the albatross is supposed to represent. Given that the allusion is basically the entire premise of the song, this is really disappointing. Especially on an album called "The Tortured Poets Department."

#i kinda want to do a tier ranking or something of literary allusions in Taylor Swift songs #spoiler alert: a lot of them are not great #i love her so so very much but i think she would really benefit from a few college level English classes #idk. i really love the rime and you guys know i love the albatross as a symbol even more #she could've gotten a really interesting and nuanced song by exploring the image a little bit further #reading the poem maybe a commentary idk #also the 'eve got bitten' line is driving me nuts. she didn't get bitten that didn't happen #cmon girl #pontifications and creations #tay tay

35 notes · View notes