Album Review: “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” - Taylor Swift
As I’m sure everyone reading this has heard, Taylor Swift has officially released her eleventh studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department”.
Announced on February 4th 2024, the entire world was shocked to say the least. Swiftie’s (Taylor’s fans) were convinced that she was announcing Reputation (Taylor’s Version). After all, she’d dropped multiple hints…
Such as wearing a green outfit to the Golden Globe Awards on January 7th:
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
And another to a private party in Beverly Hills on January 10th:
Robert Kamau / Getty Images
Taylor loves to plant hidden messages in clothing, hair, and nails, so these snake-coloured outfits seemed to hint at the highly-anticipated release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version).
On the night of the 2024 Grammy Awards, Taylor even changed her profile picture (on all platforms besides TikTok) to black and white:
@taylorswift / Instagram
Of course, all of these hints were red herrings. When she won ‘Best Pop Vocal Album’ for her album Midnights, Taylor used her acceptance speech to announce her brand new album instead:
As promised in her speech, she posted the album cover immediately after:
However, if you’ve noticed, the album cover of this post is different…
That’s because Taylor Swift released two albums on April 19th: The Tortured Poets Department and The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
Theories about a double album or ‘2am Edition’ had been circulating since Taylor’s announcement. She loves to add second releases, with songs ‘From the Vault’ on her ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recordings and extended albums such as Midnights (3am Edition) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) [Deluxe].
If you’ve watched the ‘Best Pop Vocal Album’ acceptance speech, you’ll notice that she does a peace sign with her right hand. Speculation started quickly after that, with Swifties also theorising it could represent an Eras Tour 2.0, with songs added to her set from the new album.
Adding to this, on April 16th she posted ‘The TTPD Timetable’. Within this video, the clocks were set to two o’clock and two exclamation points featured on the “Release Day” section of the calendar:
With all of these clues, a ‘2am Edition’ of the album seemed entirely possible.
Because the thing about Taylor is that she just can’t stop creating music.
Back in 2020, she wrote in the surprise announcement post of her 9th album Evermore that it was created because “We just couldn’t stop writing songs.” Hence, the ‘sister album’ of her 8th record, Folklore was born.
Produced by Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, Folklore and Evermore are some of the most beloved albums by Swifties. So, it’s no wonder that four years later, Taylor Swift is still writing songs with them - and faster than ever…
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology boasts a track list of 31 songs with a total run-time of 2 hours and 2 minutes.
Here’s the official track list below:
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
The Tortured Poets Department
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Down Bad
So Long, London
But Daddy I Love Him
Fresh Out The Slammer
Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
Guilty as Sin?
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
loml
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
The Alchemy
Clara Bow
The Black Dog
imgonnagetyouback
The Albatross
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
How Did It End?
So High School
I Hate It Here
thanK you aIMee
I Look In People’s Windows
The Prophecy
Cassandra
Peter
The Bolter
Robin
The Manuscript
With an addition of 15 new songs, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology is by far Taylor’s longest album.
The original Tortured Poets Department track list had been out since February 6th, and Spotify even had a countdown to April 19th:
@bensinger_daria / Twitter (X)
Taylor also announced four bonus tracks during this time: The Manuscript, The Bolter, The Albatross, and The Black Dog. These were originally available to buy separately on CD and vinyl variants, though now you can stream them on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
In the lead up to the album release, Swifties quickly claimed their soon-to-be favourite songs from the track list.
The most anticipated songs seemed to be So Long, London, loml and But Daddy I Love Him. Speculation about Taylor’s love life has always followed her, so these songs that seemed to directly relate to her recent heartbreak caused a storm online. With all the buzz circulating online and Swifties talking about their breakups and ‘healing eras’, we were genuinely afraid of how much the new album would wreck us emotionally. Now, you might be thinking: Why?
At the Nashville Songwriters Awards on September 20th 2023, Taylor was awarded the ‘Songwriter-Artist of the Decade’. During her acceptance speech, she admitted to dividing her songs into the following categories: ‘Fountain Pen’, ‘Quill’, and ‘Glitter Gel Pen’:
Taylor explained: “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down.”
And fans knew coming up to April 19th that ‘Glitter Gel Pen’ songs - the more upbeat, excitable tunes you laugh and dance to like Shake It Off (Taylors Version) - wouldn’t feature on The Tortured Poets Department.
That’s because, between April 16th - 18th, a Spotify Library Installation was set up at The Grove in Los Angeles. Promoting the new album, this installment was filled with ‘easter eggs’ like song lyrics on books, puzzle pieces in jars, clocks set to 2 o’clock, as well as six mailboxes opened and filled with letters. The elements were reminiscent of a ‘dark academia’ style, featuring pieces of lace, typewriters, and statues. Importantly, there were no glitter gel pens in sight, only quills and fountain pens.
For The Record / newsroom.spotify.com
And if there’s one thing that you need to know about Taylor Swift, it’s that everything she shows us can be a clue…
@goldswiftss / Twitter (X)
So, you might be thinking: Did the album live up to the hype? Was it worth the wait? Well, this writer was up at 12am EST / 5am BST to hear the newest songs as soon as possible.
As is the tradition with Taylor Swift’s releases, you should always read the prologue first:
@xishiis / Twitter (X)
If you haven’t already listened to all 31 songs (and don’t want spoilers), you can listen to the new album here.
Alternatively, you can listen to our Spotify playlist ranking the album, ‘Album Ranking - TTPD: The Anthology’, here.
So, did you get your headphones ready? Perfect.
Then you’ll know that the album begins with Fortnight (feat. Post Malone). This song is also the first single of the era, with its music video premiering at 8pm EST / 1am BST on April 19th:
The synth-pop track opens The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology with the line: “I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me.”
Sound familiar? It should. Because it’s a masterful continuation from the song Hits Different, which was released on streaming within Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) in May 2023.
In the final verse of Hits Different, Taylor sings: “Is it you? Or have they come to take me away?”
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone), however, is a much mellower track than its ‘Glitter Gel Pen’ counterpart. This opening line introduces the themes that surround this album: depression and substance abuse, longing for commitment, the isolation of fame, and the search for validation under the pressures of public perception.
In the track, Taylor continually sings: “I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
Using this metaphor of a brief and tumultuous relationship, Taylor could also be exploring the complexity of her relationship with fans. There’s a “quiet treason” in the way that she’s been misunderstood, and the lyrics explain that even whilst she spiralled, “nobody noticed my new aesthetic”.
It’s undoubtable that Taylor has achieved an unmatched level of fame in the music industry, and she’s spoken before about feeling a sense of depersonalisation. Within her TikTok series ‘Midnights Mayhem’, she unveiled the concept behind her song, Anti-Hero:
She explained: “I struggle with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized. And I, not to sound too dark, but I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.”
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone), touches on the same concept. Only, two years later, delves deeper into it as she too has into fame. It is an honest and vulnerable song about both the superficiality of her love affairs and of the artist / fan relationship.
With 31 tracks, we can’t review every song from The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology in depth. Instead, since this is an album all about tortured poetry, we’ll explore some of the more imagery-laden ones as well as the overall narrative of the album.
Track 6, But Daddy I Love Him, is a stellar example of one:
Its title is a clear reference to The Little Mermaid, a film which released in 1989, the same year that Taylor was born. In the story of Disney’s Ariel, the protagonist trades her voice in order to meet a man, going against the wishes of her controlling father.
Likewise, in But Daddy I Love Him, Taylor compares the criticism of the public eye to a disapproving father figure, as both are “people [who] only raise you to cage you”. Rebelling against the constant backlash about her private life and dating history, she sings: “I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace”.
Produced by Jack Antonoff, the song is full of dramatic crescendos and glittering synths as Taylor sings of “Running with [her] dress unbuttoned / Screamin’, “But, daddy, I love him!”. She even breaks the fourth wall, declaring “I’m having his baby” / No, I’m not, but you should see your faces”, which we thought was hilarious.
In the penultimate chorus, Taylor says: “I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empaths clothing”. With this, she takes aim at the people who claim to criticise her out of ‘empathy’ or concern for her wellbeing. Essentially, “You ain’t gotta pray for [her]” because the opinions of others are “just white noise”.
It’s a poignant reminder that just because an artist shares with us their music, it doesn’t mean as listeners we’re entitled to access their personal life.
Taylor doesn’t owe anyone anything, and she shouldn’t have to sugar-coat her stories to make them more palatable for us. Instead, she’s asking fans for privacy and to stop placing expectations of perfection on her. She’s a real person and she should be allowed to live outside of the burning spotlights people push on her.
But Daddy I Love Him isn’t the only song on the album that directly addresses the pressures of stardom. One song that, in many ways summarises her real-life experience whilst writing this album, is track 13, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart:
It’s no coincidence that it holds the place of Taylor’s favourite number, and that the imagery on the lyric video is of The Eras Tour.
Everyone knows about her record-breaking tour that started on March 17th 2023:
With 152 shows over 5 continents, it’s already the highest-grossing tour of all time. Having not toured since her ‘Reputation World Tour’ in 2018, The Eras Tour is a celebration of all of her music across every era of her life. And with a set list of 44 songs spanning over three hours, it’s proved for certain how much of a powerhouse Taylor Swift truly is.
However, in I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, Taylor bares the truth of what it was really like being on stage in the midst of her most painful heartbreak.
The song opens with Taylor quietly singing: “I can read your mind”, guessing how onlookers think "‘She’s having the time of her life’ / There in her glittering prime”. But, like a poetic volta, the song’s tone shifts as she admits that “I can show you lies.”
From there, we hear a countdown, ‘1, 2, 3, 4’, mimicking the in-ear monitors she wears on stage. A metronome beat introduces the pre-chorus, building behind her lyrics a sense of anxiety much akin to her song, The Archer. This new track thematically mirrors The Archer, too:
In I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, Taylor sings about how “All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting more”. In The Archer, she repeats that “They see right through me / They see right through / Can you see right through me?”
Instead of reflecting again on her struggles with self-doubt and insecurities, Taylor sings “I was grinning like I’m winning / I was hitting my marks / ‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart”. Of course, behind this smiley exterior of an upbeat radio hit for high-achievers and perfectionists, Taylor hides her most vulnerable lyrics.
Underneath it all, it’s a song about carrying grief and heartbreak, but having to wake up every day and pretend to be fine. The songs continue playing, the cameras keep clicking, and the world won’t stop for you just because it feels broken.
After all, “You know you’re good when you can even do it with a broken heart.”
Another notable song about grief is track 10, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
The song is a metaphor for growing up in the music industry feeling like part of a circus: always being watched, and your sense of self warping as you have to act in front of people.
It’s within the bridge that Taylor masterfully bleeds her female rage through the lyrics:
“You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they caged me”, using imagery of captivity that continues in the line, “I was tame, I was gentle / Til the circus life made me mean / Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth.”
Even in her confession, she plays the part of a ringmaster, hyperbolically conducting the narrative of this circus show. In many ways, this track is a sort of Mirrorball 2.0, but in the peak of mania.
She talks of scandals, gallows and narcotics, reclaiming the role of her captors as the song progresses. In each chorus, Taylor screams “Who’s afraid of little old me?”, after which she quietly asserts, “You should be.” As with most of this album, listening to this track felt like reading her diary.
Another of her most powerful songs on the album is track 14, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived:
Before we explain it, have a read of the third verse:
“Were you sent by someone / Who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed? / Were you writing a book? / Were you a sleeper cell spy? / In fifty years will all this be declassified?”
This song is a desperate begging. It’s sharpened teeth. It’s searching for the ulterior motive. It’s an interrogation of someone who tore her apart entirely.
She’s in denial, grappling for any reason why she could’ve been treated so horribly.
And there is no answer. The only thing she can do is ask: “Could someone give / A message to the smallest man who ever lived”.
Writing about this song honestly doesn’t do it justice - you have to listen to it.
Because soon afterwards, we reach the second half of the album: ‘The Anthology’. The first track of which, The Black Dog (or track 17) is by far our favourite:
The song begins with soft piano chords, over which Taylor sings: “I am someone, who until recent events / You shared your secrets with / And your location /You forgot to turn it off”.
She watches this person walk “Into some bar called The Black Dog”, and is hit by a wave of grief. The song paces faster as she sings, “I just don’t understand … / How you don’t miss me”, and the track crescendos with the belted lyrics, “Old habits die screaming.”
Now, you know that any Taylor Swift song which starts with a soft piano will be devastating, but this one struck us more than any other on the album.
In The Black Dog, the singer “move[s] through the world with the heartbroken”, because amongst them, she is isolated from everyone who moves without the visceral heartache she feels.
Taylor retells anecdotes from the lost relationship as if she is talking to them, mentioning their “best laid plans” and asking if they remember the time her body was “rain-soaked” and “shaking”. It’s clear here what the shower symbolises: how this tumultuous love left her stripped down and shivering. How, in a time when the water (or his love) should have cleansed her, she was tortured and lonely.
This theme extends itself in the bridge as she claims: after “Six weeks of breathing clean air / I still miss the smoke”. It’s a lyric that’s tragic for it’s truthfulness, and one which reminds us of the song, Clean (Taylor’s Version) from her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version). In Clean, Taylor sings: “Ten months sober, I must admit / Just because you’re clean don’t mean you don’t miss it.” She confesses that separating yourself from someone is much like a withdrawal, and with that you have to wrestle with missing what you know is awful for you.
In the final chorus of The Black Dog, her resurfacing anger builds with the drums and strings, perfectly orchestrating how desperate she is not only to make sense of what happened, but to move on from it.
So, exhausted and betrayed, she breathlessly whispers the last word. Because like a soft perfume trail or a tear-stained pillow, The Black Dog is a story about what lingers long after someone has already gone.
Further into ‘The Anthology’, these themes resurface in the 28th track, Peter:
Taylor is no stranger to using metaphors, conceits, and fictional characters to process her heartbreak.
And as you’d expect, this song’s symbolism is based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, “Peter Pan”. In Taylor’s song, Peter, the unnamed narrator is Wendy herself, holding onto hope that the person she loves will return - and that this time they will stay.
In her eighth studio album, Folklore, Taylor created a love triangle between a trio of characters: James, Betty, and Augustine. The album’s 14th track, Betty is sung by a teenage James, who confessed to cheating on his girlfriend Betty with another girl during the summer, who Taylor calls Augustine.
Peter seems to be a continuation of James and Betty’s story as adults. In the song, a more mature Betty realises that he’ll never change and will always stay in his reckless teenage state.
Laden with mythological and religious imagery of goddesses and bruised ribs, we already know how this story ends. She sings, “You said you were gonna grow up / You said you were gonna come find me”, waiting on the unfulfilled promise that Peter will come back eventually…
“But the woman who sits by the window / Has turned out the light”. Because you can try rewrite a love story, but you can’t bring magic back to promises that were “never to keep”.
Sometimes, characters are the best tools through which to tell stories. You can switch through their perspectives like lenses and write their narrative arcs much more cleanly than real life does. Still, their stories change just as we do.
With that in mind, the final song of The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology is track 31, The Manuscript:
The song opens in third-person, present tense: “Now and then she re-reads the manuscript / Of the entire torrid affair.”
Taylor explains how “Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward”, summarising what the entire album is about: healing. In this way, The Manuscript is reminiscent of Dear Reader from Midnights (3am Edition). Though, instead of imploring listeners to take her advice as a cautionary tale, she now relinquishes her control over what she has told us. With a little time and perspective, “She knew what the agony had been for”.
The song closes with a shift to first-person, present tense: “The only thing that’s left is the manuscript / One last souvenir from my trip to your shores / Now and then I re-read the manuscript / But the story isn’t mine anymore.”
This final line hit like a punch to the gut, artfully marking the end to a song that, most simply, is about closure. Moreover, it’s a lesson about turning chapters on times, places, people - and most importantly - eras of your life that you no longer live in.
As we were reminded in the album’s prologue, “Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it.” So, through The Manuscript, Taylor lays her final narrative to rest.
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology is a departure from all of Taylor Swift’s previous work. It is her soul laid bare on the page, uncensored and unafraid.
In the few days since it’s release, the album has already earned a timeless quality. It’s meant to be digested slowly, with fans taking in more of Taylor’s lyricism with every listen. Much like the rest of Taylor’s discography, it is a placeholder for magic and nostalgia and memories. Because of this, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology has inarguably and rightfully earned its place amongst her best work.
It’s also an album that reached an incredible level of commercial success. Which is no surprise, really…
After two years of writing tortured poetry, Taylor has managed to break even more records than ever before:
On its release day, The Tortured Poets Department became Spotify's most-streamed album in a single day.
Taylor Swift also became the most-streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history.
At this point, Taylor is her biggest competition when it comes to topping charts and breaking records. But, as her fame grows, so does the discourse about her songwriting.
So, before we hear any more discussions over who was the subject of each song on the new album, we’d like to say that anyone with that mentality is completely missing the point. The music Taylor makes is about her. Her thoughts, her feelings and her experiences. It’s reductive to think any differently.
Taylor has continually said that songwriting helps her process life, and as fans we’re lucky that she was vulnerable enough to share the work with us. Because she wrote it for own healing and peace. She wrote it as a means of closure.
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology isn’t her current reality, it’s Taylor saying “this is what my life was like, but it’s better now, I promise”.
Naturally, the narratives within it still cut deep for a lot of us. Music speaks to the innermost parts of us, and as listeners we too can heal from our own pain and heartbreak with it. We can feel comfort and a sense of community, and ultimately remind ourselves that we aren’t alone in our feelings.
Ultimately, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology was created as a means of survival. It was Taylor’s way of admitting her faults, confessing her deepest secrets, and collating them into stories for us to listen to. After all, we know she’s already writing the next ones.
So, as if the anthology were in a library, it’s up to us to keep it safe. We’re the bookkeepers now.
And the rest of our stories? Well, they’ll become tortured poetry, too.
