One year after releasing her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, full of dark and gloomy music blending sad lyrics and emotional verses about her recent breakup, Taylor Swift returns with a happy, brighter sound declaring a new love life that she has longed for.
The Life of a Showgirl was released on October 3rd with twelve different tracks showcasing Taylor Swift’s songwriting mastery and fascinating storytelling. Her lead single The Fate of Ophelia, which has already surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, is a clear reference to the tragic story of Ophelia, a female heroine from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But, what do we know about Ophelia and how did Swift relate her own experience of heartbreak to Ophelia’s tragedy?
Ophelia is the daughter of a nobleman, named Polonius. She’s been deeply in love with Hamlet, who is haunted by his father’s ghost. Driven by hallucinations and dark thoughts, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius. Grief over losing her father and Hamlet’s love drives Ophelia into sadness and despair. She eventually ends her own life, and is found drowned in a brook.
Swift writes: “But love was a cold bed full of scorpions
The venom stole her sanity.”
Inspired by Ophelia’s tragedy, Taylor Swift refers to the story in her new song: “Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and
Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.”
In these lyrics, Swift reflects on being saved from Ophelia’s doomed fate, the agony and gloominess, by finding love again. She describes how her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce, has rescued her from emotional “death” and “drowning” after ending a six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn. She wrote: “And if you’d never come for me
I might’ve drowned in the melancholy.”
”The Fate of Ophelia” is a song that highlights the power of love to heal one’s heart. Any form of love can help bring someone back to life so they can enjoy the blessings of each day. So, whether it’s a romantic relationship or a strong friendship, love and admiration can save the heart from despair and darkness. Love is a cure, and we can never know what it might bring to our soul.
A true artist, Taylor Swift treats her music as her diary. She documents her life experiences from high school years to her rise to stardom. Her authenticity in songwriting is what makes her so admired across the generations, inspiring listeners to look at life as a cycle where after each dark night there comes a “beautiful, beautiful life that shimmers that innocent light back.”
Words by Joyce Bou Charaa
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