The Gryphon Gazette

By Allison H. ‘25

On February 4th, 2024 at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift took the world by storm twice— not only by becoming the first artist ever to win the Album of the Year award four times but also by announcing the release of her next album, The Tortured Poets Department. Dropping on April 19, 2024, this album will mark her ninth release from the past five years, its highly acclaimed predecessors including Swift’s Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Midnights, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Having amassed an extensive collection of nominations and awards throughout her career and Swift’s popularity consistently skyrocketing, expectations for The Tortured Poets Department are staggeringly high. But if anyone can surpass those standards, it’s Swift. 

Perhaps yet another expression of the public’s infatuation with Swift’s life and motives, fans across the internet have taken it upon themselves to analyze the upcoming album’s title, photography, song names, and everything in between to try and predetermine what the album might look and sound like. After hearing predictions around campus such as the album likely being “a little more sad” to “definitely about Joe Alwyn,” I’ve compiled a list of my top thoughts, comments, and predictions about The Tortured Poets Department to formulate my own ideas on what Swift’s next album may look like. 

1. The Tortured Poets Department will reveal new insight into Swift and Alwyn’s relationship, which she kept extremely private and guarded from public view during the six years they were officially together.

It’s no secret that many of Swift’s previous songs were written about, for, (or even by) Alwyn. From the passionate and upbeat “King of My Heart,” “Cruel Summer,” “Daylight,” Invisible String,” and “Mastermind,” these are only a few of Swift’s fan-speculated written testaments regarding the nature of her relationship with Alwyn. With dreamy beats and evocative lyrics, we get a glimpse into the enchanting highs of their love. However, Swift’s more recent tracks such as “You’re Losing Me”, depict the futility of trying to save a dying relationship. With this song, in particular, having been written and released one-and-a-half years before officially announcing their split, Swift has been hinting at the emotional decline of her and Alwyn’s romance for a while now. This has come as a surprise to many of her fans, with rumors of a clandestine marriage between Swift and Alwyn even having circulated across the internet in 2023. Regardless of how passionate their relationship may have previously been though, the title of The Tortured Poets Department seems to be a definitive jab at Alwyn, referencing his mention in a 2022 interview of a group chat he was in called the ‘Tortured Man Club,’ further hinting at possible themes of Swift’s upcoming album.

2. The release of The Tortured Poets Department will likely follow the same pattern of publicity that Swift has used in her recent albums, such as Red (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights.

Although Swift’s thoughtful lyricism, catchy beats, and pre-established fame are large parts in Midnights’ widespread success, another factor that undoubtedly contributed to anticipation around the album was the manner in which she revealed the tracklist and lead single— through a TikTok series titled Midnights Madness With Me— which in the weeks leading up to the album’s release Swift gradually revealed its track titles while also dropping hidden surprises hinting at themes and lyrics which were later confirmed in her Midnights album. Although the tracklist of The Tortured Poets Department has already been released, Swift may employ similar features leading up to April 19th, such as incorporating social media to heighten excitement. Additionally, speculation regarding Swift creating more short films to accompany her songs, as she did with “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) has been circulating on social media. In an interview following her release of Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift stated that she wanted to continue incorporating cinematographic aspects in her work, and considering that there’s a new page on her website titled “Directed Projects,” it seems likely she’ll be taking that artistic direction with The Tortured Poets Department. 

3. And finally, The Tortured Poets Department’s aesthetics and musical genres will evoke a tone similar to a combination of Swift’s 1989 and Folklore albums.

Most, if not all of the students I interviewed expressed this opinion, some stating they thought it would be “a little more sad” than her previous album, Midnights, while others held the same perspective due to the popular opinion that the album was created to address both the highs and lows of her relationship with Alwyn. This led many to speculate that it was originally written around the release of her 1989 album. Within her Instagram announcement of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift included a handwritten message, which seemingly set the tone for fans’ expectations of the upcoming album:

“And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry… Sincerely, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.”

To many fans, these words were evocative of her song titled “The Lakes,” from her Folklore album. With her new album’s monochromatic aesthetic and its poetic and mysterious teasers, many believe that the album will parallel Folklore, which won Album of the Year for its expressive and flowery lyricism. However, Swift herself mentioned that The Tortured Poets Department will fall under the synth-pop genre, which is more aligned with beats from her 1989 album. 

Regardless of the direction Swift takes with her next album, The Tortured Poets Department is certain to be a huge success. Despite already being established as a multitalented singer-songwriter, global superstar, and one of the voices of our generation, her popularity seems to be steadily increasing still, her Eras Tour even literally shaping the economy. Whether The Tortured Poets Department will be about Joe Alwyn, and have a musicality akin to 1989 and Folklore, or if she’ll manage to bypass all expectations and surprise the world yet again? That’s something that only time will tell.