A Tortured Piece of Poetry: The Chairman's Delusion

Part II || Taylor's perception of TTPD

The Tortured Poets Department has already proven itself to be an incredibly deep, life-changing masterpiece. Its raw, unfiltered nature makes it even more powerful, revealing Taylor’s most personal thoughts, fears and inner demons.

I began the A Tortured Piece of Poetry series to break down this fascinating record, exploring everything from its songs to the backstory, and from Taylor’s vision to the final product. In today’s second article out of four, I will dive deeper into a few aspects I believe Taylor may have misunderstood about her own album, from the aesthetic choices to her overall perception of TTPD.

Before we dive in, let me make something clear: I will be expressing some very controversial opinions, and you're more than welcome to disagree with me and share your thoughts. But please don’t call me a hater or say I’m not a "real Swiftie." Taylor Swift isn’t perfect, and sometimes, even she makes mistakes. She might be one of the most talented and dedicated artists in the industry, but being her fan doesn’t mean I have to blindly love everything single she has ever created.

What is actually the meaning of a “Tortured Poet”?

What is the meaning of a “Tortured Poet”? The Tortured Poets Department has been out for six months now, and we’ve yet to hear an actual explanation from Taylor herself about what its title truly means. For me, the question of what a Tortured Poet is has always been an intriguing one. When Taylor sat down to write the title track, what did she imagine a Tortured Poet would be? And perhaps more importantly, who or what is the poet being tortured by?

1. Herself - Maybe Taylor was torturing herself throughout 2023 by ignoring all of the clear warning signs about Matty Healy, and caused herself such a great heartbreak that she could have saved herself if she thought more clearly. Taylor seemed to be so dependent on Matty, and from the songs she wrote about him, we can conclude that she had some sort of abandonment anxiety. This option makes a lot of sense to me, since The Tortured Poets Department title track is actually a poorly-written love song to Matty. Taylor expresses how scared she is of the option of Matty leaving her, and it seems like that thought really tortured her.

2. The public eye (media, fans, etc.) - Taylor has definitely paid a price for being Taylor Swift. Her every move becomes a headline, the media scrutinizes her constantly, and many people have no respect for her privacy or boundaries. The line between a fan and a stalker, or a journalist and a creep, is often blurred, creating a complicated relationship between Taylor and fame. It would be torturing for anyone in her position—having paparazzi and fans crash a friend’s wedding just because she’s in attendance, being unable to go out to dinner without being swarmed by cameras, and seeing your every personal move turn into front-page news. On top of that, fans frequently criticize her relationships and decisions. Taylor expressed her anger and frustration about people invading her personal life in But Daddy I Love Him, and it’s possible this is what she was referencing with the album title.

3. The writing itself - This is my favorite option out of all of the ones I mentioned, simply because it connects the “tortured” and the “poet” in such a beautiful way. I think that what Taylor meant by that title is that the poet’s version of her was caught in some endless, torturing loop:  Feeling heartbroken and shattered, she may have tried to suppress her emotions. But as a songwriter, as a poet, she must write to process her feelings and find peace. However, writing forces her to confront those emotions, which can bring even more pain. It’s an endless cycle of torture.

Taylor’s Perception Of TTPD vs. TTPD In Reality

I remember waking up on a gray February morning, opening Instagram, and seeing Taylor’s announcement of a new album. I remember crying. I remember hugging everyone I knew, and I was probably more than a little annoying about it.

Another thing I remember was being absolutely convinced that The Tortured Poets Department was going to be Taylor’s darkest and saddest album, both lyrically and musically. When a friend told me she thought it would end up being a pop album and that it was going to be the worst decision Taylor ever made, I thought she was wrong.

Well, she was right about the first part. While TTPD is a very sad album, it’s still a pop record. And I have to say, even though I’m the #1 fan of Taylor's work, I don’t think a pop album—no matter how good—deserves the title The Tortured Poets Department.

When I first heard Taylor say The Tortured Poets Department in her announcement video, I instantly imagined something similar to Red, but in the dead of winter, with the melancholy vibe of evermore songs like happiness, ivy, or tolerate it, maybe with a twist of Midnights. To put it more simply, a breakup album filled with heartbreaking, sad melodies and poetic lyrics.

Sure, TTPD has a few tracks that fit that description, but out of the 31 songs on the album, only about 10 truly capture the “tortured poet” vibe. If any of Taylor’s albums were going to deserve a title like The Tortured Poets Department, it should have been evermore.

So, if TTPD isn’t really filled with tortured poetry, why was that name so important to Taylor?

I think that Taylor wanted to gag people. She wanted to drop a bombshell, to leave the fans stunned—and she succeeded. When she first said the name The Tortured Poets Department on the Grammys stage, I was dead on the floor. We all were. Taylor's previous albums have had short and sweet titles, and suddenly here’s a four-word, 26-letter name.

The song titles only prove to me that this was Taylor’s intention. Most of the longer, intriguing song names in TTPD are on the original record (I Can Do It With A Broken Heart, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, So Long London, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can), The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived). On the other hand, The Anthology features vague titles (The Albatross, Peter, Robin, I Look In People’s Windows, and The Manuscript) To me, it feels like she was focused on creating an impression rather than capturing the essence of the album.

I don’t think Taylor was intentionally misleading us about what the message and the story behind TTPD would be, but I do think her own perception of the album was somewhat wrong. 

Taylor has always taken herself and her work extremely seriously, whether as a songwriter, actress, or director. I imagine that while creating TTPD, she was so invested in portraying this narrative of a “tortured poet” that she didn’t stop to question whether it actually suited the album.

Don’t get me wrong, Taylor is definitely a poet. At this point, calling her a songwriter almost feels like an understatement, and her lyrics are much better than any other mainstream artist in the music industry. But being a poet and being a tortured poet are two different things, and I think Taylor did not quite understand that while writing TTPD.

Again, she was so invested in this story she created that she didn’t stop to consider whether the title fit the music.

After six months of streaming The Tortured Poets Department nonstop, I can confidently say that the true narrative of the album is less about a “tortured poet” and more about a woman who experienced too many heartbreaks. It feels like the story of someone throwing a tantrum, then sitting alone on her studio floor with a glass of wine, shedding a few tears before deciding to throw a party for her cats.

If she wanted both to gag us and reflect the album’s themes, she should have called it Fresh Out the Slammer. That title captures the album’s real storyline so well: My boyfriend of six years has depression and doesn’t want to marry me, so I reconnect with a rebound from nearly a decade ago. Plus, Fresh Out the Slammer is a much stronger song (and name) than The Tortured Poets Department.

Another thing that really annoys me about this title is how long it took to even say it right. I remember fumbling through variations like The Dead Poet Society or The Dead Poets Department before finally getting it right. I even saw some major newspapers calling it The Tortured Poets Society. It’s just so confusing.

Ultimately, the biggest issue with TTPD is that Taylor’s vision for the album didn’t match reality. She made Tortured Poets seem like evermore’s sadder sibling, but in reality, it’s a mix of folklore and Midnights: a bejeweled mirrorball that desperately needs therapy.

Breaking Down The Aesthetic

One thing about Taylor Swift is that every time she releases a new album, she introduces a whole new aesthetic to go with it. Taylor is known for diving deep into her album concepts and packing them with easter eggs. With The Tortured Poets Department, she took it to the next level, fully committing to creating a whole visual world.

The TTPD aesthetic is built around black and white tones, and honestly, it’s one of the best aesthetics Taylor has ever made. She was completely dedicated to the theme and created one of her best album photoshoots.

However, when you take a closer look at the details of the TTPD aesthetic, it starts to feel messy and all over the place. Don’t get me wrong—I love it, but there was definitely room for improvement.

What I don’t understand is what aesthetic Taylor was actually aiming for. Was it light academia? Dark academia? Film noir? The 1920s? And why was she wearing these revealing outfits on the photoshoot set? (Not that I mind the clothes being revealing—I just don’t understand how they connect with the album.)

As I mentioned earlier, I think Taylor was trying to shock everyone, and she of course succeeded. The black-and-white aesthetic does fit The Tortured Poets Department because it symbolizes her loss of color and joy, but I think she went a little too far with it, and sometimes it feels like she caused a mess.

At this stage in her career, I think Taylor’s team has taken a step back, allowing her to have most of the control over her artistic decisions. On one hand, I really respect that—it’s great when an artist takes charge of the narrative they’re building in every aspect. But on the other hand, I think it would help Taylor to have more feedback on her visual aesthetics. Designing visuals isn’t her main focus, and while she has some experience, she still isn’t a professional.

I feel like Taylor went a bit too overboard and lost track of what she was aiming for. First, let’s talk about the TTPD vinyl variants. I think that variants were a brilliant marketing idea: four vinyls, each one in a different aesthetic with a different bonus track. But there were some missteps, and the biggest one is The Bolter vinyl.

The entire TTPD aesthetic was built around a black-and-white spectrum until Taylor suddenly decided to throw in this weird grayish-brown color for The Bolter. In my opinion, The Bolter vinyl is the biggest crime Taylor has ever performed. The color is ugly, and that’s very frustrating because The Bolter is my favorite Taylor Swift song (except for Hits Different and Mary’s Song). The brown just doesn’t relate to anything else, and the color looks like clay: it’s completely unflattering.

Another issue with the variants is related to the overall photoshoot. Take The Albatross vinyl for example. A part of the TTPD photoshoot took place on a beach. Taylor Alison Swift, why? What was the idea behind having a beach photoshoot for an album that’s supposed to be centered around darkness, asylum, and emptiness? Don’t get me wrong—the beach photoshoot was stunning, and I got myself The Albatross vinyl, but I just don’t see how it fits the TTPD vibe.

I also need to mention The Black Dog variant and The Anthology's original cover. First of all, why is it the exact same picture? There were so many photos taken during the TTPD shoot, yet Taylor chose the same one for two separate releases. Secondly, out of all the images from that day, why that one? It’s a background-less shot of Taylor in a weird pose, and I can’t figure out why she liked it so much. The new Anthology vinyl cover is so much better.

The last issue I had with the TTPD aesthetic is how Taylor tried to blend two separate themes: the black-and-white spectrum (presented in the variants and photoshoot) and the asylum concept (presented in the Fortnight music video and the TTPD set on the Eras Tour). I love both of the themes on their own, but together, they make the aesthetic feel messy—like no one was there to stop Taylor from going a little too crazy. I think she should have committed to just one of these ideas.

Finally, I want to clarify again that I love the Tortured Poets aesthetic, but I do think there was so much more potential here. Taylor tends overlooks the fact that sometimes less is more (only aesthetic-wise! I’m here for as many songs as she is willing to put out!), and that you need to take a break and rethink about what you are designing before going all wild.  Again, it’s amazing that she has so much say and responsibility over every aspect of her projects, but a little more guidance from her team could take her visuals to the next level.

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Happy six whole months of The Tortured Poets Department! Can you believe it's been six months already? I still have so many memories from April 19th that I replay constantly in my head—from hearing The Alchemy for the first time to absolutely losing it when she dropped The Anthology. Long live all the magic we made on that bright April day because it will be remembered forever.

And in another matter, the Eras Tour is finally back! Taylor just kicked off the next leg of the tour in Miami, and there is so much to say, but I’ll save most of it for another time. The one thing I have to talk about right now is the fact that THERE IS A NEW REPUTATION BODYSUIT!

I fear that there is a chance that the TTPD era will be ending soon. My feelings are mixed but the new bodysuit is stunning and I am in utter shock🤍