The song that opens the new album by Taylor Swift tries to give Ophelia a new destination, one of the most emblematic characters of the English work William Shakespeare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svcboy81wu
Taylor Swift He just released the album The life of a showgirlThe twelfth of your career. The first track, The fate of Ophelia (The fate of Opheliain free translation) makes a clear reference to one of the most emblematic characters in the work of English William Shakespeare.
Ofelia appears in the game FractionOne of the Shakespearean classics, as a symbol of the female condition in the face of a world dominated by men and marked by betrayal.
In the Song, Taylor Swift Explores Themes Intrincaly Linked to the Figure of Ophelia, Such As Isolation (“All That Time I Sat Alone in My Tower” – “All that time, I Sat Aloone in My Tower”), The feeling of imprisonment (“Locked Inside My Memory and Only You You Possess The Key” – “Locked Within My Memory and Only you have the Key”) to Suffocating Melancholy (“If you’d Never Eat for Me Might’ve drowned in melancholy” -“And if I had never come to save me, I could have drowned melancholy”).
The disappointments and madness of the Shakespearean character also appear in Taylor’s song: “Ofelia lived in the imagination / but love was a cold bed full of scorpions / the poison stole her healthcare” (“Opialia lived in fantasy / but love was a cold bed full of scorpions / the poison stole her health”).
Taylor “changes” the destination of Ophelia
Although the song takes the tragedy of Ophelia as a starting point, Taylor Swift subverts the original destination of the character and proposes a sort of rescue: “You dug me from the grave and I save my heart from the fate of Ophelia” (“You took me from my pit and you saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia”). In music, the tragic end of Ophelia is avoided. Unlike Shakespeare’s text, in which Ophelia ends late for abandonment in music, he finds salvation.
In addition, music can be interpreted as a probable reference to Taylor’s relationship with the footballer Travis Kelcewho was engaged in August. In August, the singer participated in the Podcast led by Travis and his brother Jason Kelce. In the conversation, he commented for the first time publicly The fate of OpheliaRinging with the bridegroom that he would not understand the music, since he probably did not read Shakespeare’s comedy.
Taylor Swift and literature
The fate of Ophelia It is not Taylor Swfit’s first song that will seek inspiration from literature. In Love story (2008), for example, looking for references to another Shakespeare work. Music is inspired by the story of Romeo and Juliet, transforming the tragic and classic love story into a story of happy ending.
On the album Folklore2020, two songs make references to Charlotte Brontë’s work: Invisible string AND Crazy woman. In the first, Taylor makes a metaphor on the invisible thread that connects two people, inspired by an extract from the novel Jane Eyre. Already Crazy woman Dialogues with the archetype of the “Crazy Woman in the Attic”, represented by the character Bertha Mason, who appears in the same book as Brontë. On the disc SubmermoreAlso since 2020, Taylor has sought inspiration in the book Rebeccaby Daphne du Maurier, to write Tolera.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
