Your Guide To Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Era
Though Taylor Swift herself isn't exactly one to explicitly confirm or deny what her albums or songs are about, she certainly does love to drop a hint or two. And that's been no different ahead of the release of "The Tortured Poets Department" on April 19. The handwritten, sepia-toned album may not quite be here yet, but the rollout has already given us a fair share of tidbits to speculate over.
Our naturally curly-haired queen has very much hinted that her split with Joe Alwyn after six years may have influenced the record, as she explained in February during a stop on her "Eras Tour" in Melbourne, Australia. Speaking to the crowd, she expressed that she considered making the album a necessary part of healing. "It was really a lifeline for me, just the things I was going through, the things I was writing about, it kind of reminded me why songwriting is something that like actually gets me through my life," she said on stage. "I've never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on 'Tortured Poets.'"
And there have been countless more easter eggs and rumors about the albums since then. So grab your Swift-referenced literary items, 300 takeout coffees, and settle in, because we're delivering your guide to Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" era.
Swifties think the album title is a nod to Joe Alwyn
One of the most telling easter eggs fans have speculated about regarding "The Tortured Poets Department" is the title itself. A number of fans suggested the name is a direct nod to Joe Alwyn, as the actor has previously admitted to being part of a group chat with a very similar name. Back in 2022, Alwyn and actor Paul Mescal did an "Actors on Actors" interview with Variety in which they revealed they'd created a group WhatsApp group involving fellow actor Andrew Scott called "The Tortured Man Club." Yeah, really.
Though Swift herself hasn't (and may never) officially confirm the album title was inspired by her ex, a source told Daily Mail that is very much the case. "It's undeniable that the name of her upcoming album is in reference to Joe's WhatsApp group chat," the insider shared in February. "Taylor knocked him for the name of this when they were together. She didn't want people to think that it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke out about it, she was, of course, bothered."
Of course, there's also the chance the title is Swift referring to herself as a torture poet. Heck, Warwick University's former Shakespeare professor Sir Jonathan Bate did once tell Independent, "Taylor Swift is a real poet." However, for the title to be grammatically correct (without an apostrophe in "Poets"), it suggests the department is made up of people studying Tortured Poets but aren't Tortured Poets themselves.
Taylor Swift has hinted The Tortured Poets Department is about heartbreak
Also adding to the theory "The Tortured Poets Department" is about the demise of Taylor Swift's relationship with Joe Alwyn, Swift dropped five very telling playlists on Apple Music ahead of its release. The pop superstar shared the playlists in April 2024, and announced they were made up of songs that relate to denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, acceptance — also known as the five stages of heartbreak.
Swift also spoke to Apple Music about each collection of songs, explaining that denial is about ignoring red flags, while her tracks featured on anger are ones that helped her to deal with her emotions. For bargaining, she added songs that made her emotional, sharing that she felt desperate when she was writing those songs. The next playlist was made up of tracks where Swift shared she felt a sense of depression, while acceptance she explained, "[The songs] represent making room for more good in your life, making that choice because a lot of time when we lose things, we gain things too."
Several The Tortured Poets Department song titles hint at Joe Alwyn
Of course, judging a song by its title is a lot like judging a book by its cover — but that doesn't mean we can't speculate just a little about the tunes on "The Tortured Poets Department." As we know, Joe Alwyn is thought to be the main subject of the songs, which fits with a few titles. One of the most obvious has to be "So Long, London," as Swift lived in the capital of England alongside Alwyn, a native Brit. In fact, Swift referenced that time in her life around her "Reputation" era (when we know she and Alwyn started dating). The song may also be a callback to her track "London Boy," which appeared on her 2019 album, "Lover." Speaking to Time in 2023, she said, "I moved to a foreign country. I didn't leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn't trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard."
Other songs which could potentially be about Alwyn? "Fortnight," as that's a term used mainly in the U.K. to describe a two-week period. Then there's the bonus track "The Bolter," which some fans have speculated could be about the way Alwyn would prefer to avoid being in the spotlight with Swift. In fact, there's footage out there showing Alwyn literally running (or bolting, if you will) to a car and essentially pulled Swift along with him in an attempt to avoid paparazzi.
Taylor Swift's other exes may be referenced on the album
Not so fast if you're thinking "The Tortured Poets Department" is only about one of Taylor Swift's exes. That's because there have been at least two other men Swift has been linked to who may also have songs about them on the release.
The first is none other than Harry Styles, who Swift dated in late 2012 until early 2013. Some Swifties have speculated the singer may be mentioned on the album on the song "But Daddy, I Love Him." That's because an X, formerly known as Twitter, user shared a photo of Styles (who's spoken a few times about Swift since their split) in 2020 wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with that phrase. Of course, that could be a coincidence, but there's not much Swift does that's accidental... Equally, the line is uttered in the original "The Little Mermaid" (which was released back in 1989, by the way), with a TikTok user pointing out Swift wore "The Little Mermaid" merch when she was younger and even dressed up as the character for a party.
The other guy Swift may be referencing? After being friends for years, Swift had a fling with 1975 singer Matty Healy in 2023 right before her winning relationship with Travis Kelce. Many have speculated Healy's the guy behind this song on X, as his rocker image was one of the big reasons a lot of Swifties weren't on board with their brief relationship.
The Tortured Poets Department's release date holds plenty of historical significance
As we already mentioned, there's not a lot that Taylor Swift does these days that's accidental, and the April 19 release date of "The Tortured Poets Department" appears to be well-thought-out as well. It's believed by fans to be the date in 2023 when a lot of Swift's inner circle clicked the unfollow button on her ex Joe Alwyn. That evening, Swift was spotted enjoying a dinner date with her bestie Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds (where they more than likely touched on Swift's split) after which Reynolds, as well as Swift's brother, Austin, unfollowed Alwyn on Instagram.
But that's not all. Going back much, much further, to 1775 to be exact, April 19 was actually the date the American Revolutionary War (also known as The War of Independence) began. The historical period saw the American army defeat the British in order to gain the country's independence. Just a reminder that Alwyn is from, yep, Great Britain, while Swift is (of course) from the U.S.A. Could this be a potential reference to her getting her own independence back? We don't have confirmation, but it's possible.
As if that's not enough topical significance, it's also worth noting April 19 is National Cat Lady Day. As we know, Swift loves her cats and has even shared several makeup-free photos with them. Plus, it's Poetry and The Creative Mind Day, which brings us full circle to the album's title and literary aesthetic. Taylor Swift? Yeah, she's a total creative genius.