What are some similarities between Taylor Swift's songwriting and 19th century Romanticism?

Taylor Swift's lyrics and Romanticism poetry share several similarities, including: <ul> <li>The emphasis on emotions over reason </li> <li>The usage of vivid nature imagery </li> <li>The presence of a strong individual voice (of the author) </li> </ul>

Who are some famous female poets who made a name for themselves ?

Some of the most celebrated female poets who paved the way for a more feminine voice in the world of poetry include Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Dickinson.

Taylor Swift Lyrics vs. The Classics

Known for her sharp, emotionally charged lyrics, Taylor Swift's songwriting has always been wide-ranging but packed with strong narratives, metaphors and underlying storytelling. But could you tell them apart from lines written by some of history’s greatest poets? From Emily Dickinson to Mary Oliver, and from Folklore to Red, the connections between Taylor’s songwriting and timeless poetry are closer than you might think.

This fun and challenging Taylor Swift lyrics vs. classic poetry quiz will test your eye (and ear!) for language. Can you spot the difference between a line from Evermore and one from John Keats? Between All Too Well and Robert Frost? Let’s find out.

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❤️Why Taylor Swift and Classic Poetry Feel So Connected: The Romantic Tradition Behind Her Lyrics

To Swifties, Taylor Swift isn’t just one of the most successful performers of her generation; she’s also a modern storyteller whose work often reads like contemporary poetry.

When she released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department in 2024, it was more than just an artistic expression; it was a tribute and glimpse into the world of poetry. Fans were eager to uncover its literary references and connections.

Many of her lyrics share the same imagery, emotional depth, and layered meanings found in classic poetry, particularly the works of Romantic poets.

Taylor Swift sings into a white handheld microphone onstage, wearing a glittering gold dress with her hair blowing against a dark red backdrop. — Swift is credited as the lead writer on every song she has ever released. Photo by Eva Rinaldi - Taylor Swift, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24794726

✍️How Romanticism Shaped the Evolution of Poetry-Writing

Romanticism was one of the most influential poetic movements in literary history, emerging in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It marked a shift from the Enlightenment, where the period's thinkers upheld rational and logical thinking.

Romantic poets, on the other hand, made sense of the world through all things personal and abstract, revolving around nature, passion, emotions, and imagination.

Poet	Signature Work(s)	Romantic Influence
William Wordsworth	“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”; “Tintern Abbey”; The Prelude (Book I)	Highlights emotion over reason; Uses nature as emotional and moral mirror
Samuel Taylor Coleridge	“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”; “Kubla Khan”; “Christabel”	Views imagination as creative and sometimes terrifying power; Focuses on the mind’s inner landscape.
John Keats	“Ode to a Nightingale”; “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; “To Autumn”; “La Belle Dame sans Merci”	Sees beauty and sensation as pathways to truth Writes intense, sensuous imagery.
Percy Bysshe Shelley	“Ozymandias”; “Ode to the West Wind”; “To a Skylark”; “Prometheus Unbound”	Believs in revolutionary idealism; Sees poets as visionary agents of change and liberation.
Lord Byron	Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage; Don Juan; “She Walks in Beauty”; “When We Two Parted”	Popularised the Byronic hero model: passionate, isolated, rebellious individual Shows strong emotions towards self and society.

👩Taylor Swift as THE Modern Romantic Lyric Poet

Taylor Swift incorporates many core Romantic traits in her songwriting, where she transforms emotions, experiences, and ideas into unforgettable songs. ¹

Firstly, her lyrics emphasise emotions over reason, where her memories and feelings always take centre stage. There's regret, nostalgia, heartbreak, romance, betrayal and many others.

Maybe this is wishful thinking / Probably mindless dreaming / But if we loved again, I swear I’d love you right — Back to December

I wonder if he knows he’s the only thing I think about at night. — Teardrops on my Guitar

I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace, Cause when I’d fight you used to tell me I was brave— My Tears Ricochet

Secondly, she uses a lot of nature imagery in her lyrics, whether it's lakes, plants, flowers, woods, or forests, which can be heard on albums like Folklore and Evermore.

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die /I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you /Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry —The Lakes

Please picture me /In the trees /I hit my peak at seven feet /In the swing /Over the creek — Seven

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind (oh)/ Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in — Willow

Thirdly, her lyrics have a strong individual voice, often speaking in the first person. It's as if she's letting listeners a glimpse of her personal diaries.

I'm ready for combat / I saw I don't want that / But what if I do? —The Archer

It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me — Anti-hero

I want you to know / I'm a mirrorball / I can change everything about me to fit in — Mirrorball

Both Romantic poetry and Taylor Swift lyrics thrive on the universality of emotions. They make the deeply personal feel as if it belongs to everyone. Like many poets before her, she stands in that same tradition of turning private feelings into art that resonates across generations.

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✨Before Taylor Swift: Female Poets Who Paved the Way

For a long time, the literary world was largely shaped and dominated by male voices, with women poets often receiving less recognition and fewer opportunities to have their work published and celebrated. But voices such as Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Dickinson helped challenge that tradition.

They left a legacy of emotionally rich and deeply personal poetry that continues to resonate with female writers and songwriters today, including Taylor Swift.

Christina Rossetti 🌹

Year of Birth:

1830

Place of Birth:

London, England

Poetry Style:

Victorian era with ties to the Pre-Raphaelite Movement

Best Known For:

Remember, Goblin Market

Christina Rossetti is known for her deep spiritual contemplation and her ability to weave beauty and darkness into her poetry. She often uses a first-person perspective to explore her emotions, desires, and inner conflicts, complemented by vivid and evocative imagery - qualities that can also be found in Taylor Swift’s songwriting.

I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on as if in pain
Excerpt from “Song (When I am dead, my dearest)” by Christina Rossetti (1862). Public Domain

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 🌹

Year of Birth:

1806

Place of Birth:

County Durham, England

Poetry Style:

Victorian era with romantic elements

Best Known For:

How Do I Love Thee?, The Cry of the Children, Aurora Leigh

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is one of the most admired and widely regarded female poets of the English-speaking world in the 19th century. ²

She was passionate about human rights, women's rights and women's positions in society, and her writings often reflect her boldness and intelligence.

She said sometimes, ‘Aurora, have you done Your task this morning?–have you read that book? And are you ready for the crochet here?’– As if she said, ‘I know there’s something wrong, I know I have not ground you down enough To flatten and bake you to a wholesome crust
Excerpt from Aurora Leigh, First Book by Elizabeth Barret Browning (1856). Public Domain

Emily Dickinson 🌹

Year of Birth:

1830

Place of Birth:

Massachusetts, United States of America

Poetry Style:

American Romanticism

Best Known For:

Because I could not stop for Death, Hope is the thing with feathers

Fans of Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift may have let out a gasp when genealogy company Ancestry revealed that the two are related! (Sixth cousins, three times removed, to be exact). ³

Dickinson is, after all, one of America's greatest poets who's best remembered for her emotional depth and for popularizing the use of em dashes (way before ChatGPT, ahem).

I wonder if it hurts to live – And if They have to try – And whether – could They choose between – It would not be – to die –
Excerpt from I Measure Every Grief I Meet Emily Dickinson (c. 1862). Public domain

📖Discover More Classic Poetry (and Keep Spotting the Taylor Connection!)

If this quiz tripped you up, you’re not alone. Swifties and lit fans alike often notice how Taylor’s lyrics echo the voices of great poets.

Here are some of our Taylor Swift song pairings with poetry recommendations that you may find intriguing, featuring some of the most notable poets from the 20th century.

── .✦ If you love the angst and sarcasm in Look What You Made Me Do, you might want to read Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath. The poem narrates how a powerful female protagonist rises to seek vengeance against those who oppressed her. ⁴

── .✦ If you love how Tis the Damn Season explores personal choices, memories, and the paths we might have taken, you might also enjoy Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken. This classic poem is the epitome of life's paradox with choices, shaped by public or personal conviction.

── .✦ If you love the bittersweet romance with a tinge of reminiscence in Wildest Dreams, you might want to read As I Walked Out One Evening by W.H. Auden. This poem captures a similar emotion of how powerful yet fleeting romantic love can be.

🎵 The Correlation of Poetry and Pop Lyrics

If there's one takeaway from this article, you should know this. Classic poetry isn’t just for classrooms. When you read it through the lens of Taylor’s songwriting, it feels alive, modern, and surprisingly relatable.

Swiftie and Literature Trivia

Did you know in spring 2024, Harvard’s English Department offered Taylor Swift and Her World, a course that paired Swift’s songwriting with authors like Wordsworth to examine literature, celebrity, identity, and cultural influence? ⁵

Also, did you mix up Taylor with Dickinson, or Wordsworth with Folklore? 👀

So… how many times did you get it wrong?

1 - 30%

4 - 70%

More!0%

Tell us in the comments which lines stumped you the most, and whether you think Taylor Swift deserves a spot on the poetry shelf alongside the classics.

And don’t keep the fun to yourself! Share this quiz with your fellow Swifties and see if they can do better than you. Who knows, you might start a new debate over whether All Too Well is the greatest poem of the 21st century.