Samantha Sollitto Journalism Portfolio

When I see the words “tortured” and “poetry” together, a part of me wants to assume that perhaps I’m about to divulge in the most pretentious piece of art I’ve ever encountered. I’ll admit: I was scared going into Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” because the sheer dramatics of the title was quite jarring even for someone as dramatic as myself. Could her newest album really be that tortured and vulnerable?

However, after listening to the album (and the surprise second album released at 2 A.M. because who needs to sleep?), it’s evident why Swift is consistently at the top of her game, running circles around her peers and creating a new standard for artists.  

“The Tortured Poets Department” is a gruesome autopsy of  Swift’s life over the past few years but not in the traditional way through ballads of heartbreak and hope. Instead, she presents it like a trial, each song being presented as a piece of evidence toward her case where she’s pleading temporary insanity. 

And we’ve all been there.

The album combines some of the best parts of her previous work using the pen of “folklore” and “evermore” to create lyrical masterpieces like The Prophecy and So Long, London while honing in on the pop-rock influences from “Speak Now” for So High School. The vulnerability in her words and singing come straight from “Red” with the synths that create divided emotions amongst her fans being plucked straight from “Midnights.” 

One of the most defining characteristics of the album is the “tongue-in-cheek” aspect of many of her lyrics. “The Tortured Poets Department” isn’t as tortured as one might have assumed but rather a play on the people who act as though every ounce of her work is literal and dramatic. 

But Daddy, I Love Him is an excellent example of this lyricism. “I’m having his baby/ No I’m not, but you should see your faces” is a cheeky dig at the constant disapproval she receives from fans and haters alike for the people she chooses to date. 

The production creates a “coming-of-age” cinematic feel as though we’re watching Swift defy everyone around her to be in this star-crossed relationship when, in reality, it’s a group of your closest friends saying “Dump him” over a round of free chips and salsa at Chili’s. 

Florida!!! featuring Florence + The Machine is perhaps Swift’s best collaboration to date. Their voices meld together so beautifully with the pounding beat for the chorus only amplifying the strength of their work as a duo. The verses are slow, telling the story of a person trying to escape a murder they committed while the chorus intoxicates the listener with its loud and demanding presence in the song. 

I could go on and on about how every song on the main album and “The Anthology” are career defining moments for Swift. But Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? truly takes the cake when it comes to defining Swift’s legacy. 

The haunting production creates an eerie vibe of fear and suspense as Swift narrates the story of someone who’s disgraced her enough for her to fight back. She chants “I was tame, I was gentle ’til the circus life made me mean/ “Don’t you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth”/ Who’s afraid of little old me?/ Well, you should be,” a beautiful testament to how fame and public scrutiny forced her to become tougher, dropping her once innocent exterior and now being questioned and feared for the way they made her. 

She pokes fun at people who hate on her by saying “Put narcotics into all of my songs/ And that’s why you’re still singin’ along,” because obviously she’s not actually a good artist, she just laces her songs with drugs to make you listen. 

Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” truly emphasizes her versatility as an artist and highlights her uniquely specific songwriting that still manages to resonate with millions of people. To say it’s her best album might be a reach but it expertly combines all the best parts of her past, making it an excellent addition into her fruitful discography.