"Take Five!" Quotes From The Classics (Taylor's Version)
- Indiana Humniski
- Dec 22, 2022
- 1 min read
Explore classic literature through a lyrical lens with these recognizable literary quotes from bookshelf bestsellers - with a "gold rush" of "folklore" fiction ... *wink wink*
"Green was the colour of the grass where I used to read in Centennial Park." - Taylor
Now, let's take a walk in the park & explore Swift's lyrical links to classics!
'There is love in me the likes of which you've never seen. There is rage in me the likes of which should never escape. If I'm not satisfied in one - I will indulge the other.' - Mary Shelley
Hmmm... does that quote sound an awful lot like another mad woman we know?
This well-written Shelley quote leads us into our person-of-interest for the day, an author in her own right, and an artist of our generation - Dr. Taylor Swift.
With a widely-known love of scrabble and a keystone talent for lyricism (rewarded with an NYU Honourary Doctorate degree a while ago...), Swift is an obviously dominant force in the music industry. As Swifties say, "she is the music industry."
I argue that Swift is not only a master of music, but a legend of literature.
Here are "take five" folklore lyrics related to classic literature!
The 1 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott (...or Zelda) Fitzgerald
In my imagination, this song is Jay Gatsby's internal lament to Daisy prior to their reunion orchestrated by Nick.
The lyrics are filled with a nostalgic kind of yearning, hoping for the love that evaded him by not only the hand of fate - but the hand of Tom Buchanan.
"But we were something, don't you think so?
Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool
And if my wishes came true
It would've been you"
Again, the song holds deeper connections to Gatsby's gradual climb to affluence, as his monetary status from the past created barriers between their real love for each other. Lack of money and status left the door open for Tom Buchanan.
"I, I, I persist and resist the temptation to ask you
If one thing had been different
Would everything be different today?"
And when it comes to the tragic story of Daisy + Jay...
as Swift says herself in the song, "the greatest loves of all time are over now"
Want to read further? Check out my article on another Swift-central link to Daisy Buchanan at the link below!
My Tears Ricochet - We Have Always Lived In The Castle - Shirley Jackson
I think this song can serve as a glimpse into the novel's complex character of Merricat and her opinions on her somewhat-morbid sisterly relationship with her sister, Constance.
The POV focuses on Merricat - speaking on her compulsive need to collect tokens of protection for seemingly no reason. These tokens are as simple as stones yet their value could be likened to a diamond ring.
"We gather stones
Never knowing what they'll mean
Some to throw
Some to make a diamond ring"
Next, the narrative switches to Merricat's development of her relationship to both her home & her sister, when both are "tainted" by Cousin Charles
"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace
'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave"
"And I can go anywhere I want
Anywhere I want
Just not home"
Again, if you're interested in this novel further, check out my previous article on this Thriller Americana below!
Mirrorball - The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Okay, this one takes me back to the very dawn of the blog. The character of Sybil Vane inspired this whole operation as she was the character that I deemed as the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl of literature.
In terms of the classics, she is seen as the token malleable woman to be fictionally-feasted on by men like Dorian - her youthful talent diminished in the eye of the beholder once the initial spell of her beauty had been broken.
Firstly, Sybil's beauty reflects the radiance of Dorian, reflected in Swift's lyric:
"I'm a mirrorball
I'll show you every version of yourself tonight"
Yet, that beauty is jeopardized when his "love" for her is lessened by his vanity.
"I'll get you out on the floor
Shimmering beautiful
And when I break it's in a million pieces"
"I'm still a believer but I don't know why
I've never been a natural
All I do is try, try, try
I'm still on that trapeze
I'm still trying everything
To keep you looking at me"
This song is just a magnum opus of a person trying their best to reflect the best parts of people surrounding them whilst also keeping up their thinly-veiled disguise of perfection. This is the life of Sybil Vane, original MPDG of Lit.
Interested in more Sybil content? Check out one of my first ever articles below.
Invisible String - Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Alright, connecting to my second-most recent article (don't resist the urge, click the link!) and bringing in the Bronte, our favourite gal, Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre, if you want to get bookishly correct!)
The whole message of the song relies on Swift relaying back to her current partner that they are knotted together. Instead of entailing something akin to the complications of a sailor's knot, Swift's message entails that they are meant to be, inherently connected by a (namesake) invisible string between them.
This message is easy to connect to Bronte's dialogue taken from our resident moody-morally-ambiguous-male-character... Mr. Rochester!
"I have a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap. And I have a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, you'd forget me." (Bronte, 1847)
These sentiments are quick-to-compare with Swift's lyrics:
"Time, curious time
Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs
Were there clues I didn't see?
And isn't it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?"
Another key segment that reminds listeners of the opulence of Rochester's wealth against the chill of both Thornfield & Jane's past:
"Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire
Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons
One single thread of gold tied me to you."
Mad Woman - Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Another song, another character, yet the same book! I haven't yet read Wild Sargasso Sea, which was a book listed in my Classic Literature TBR Post... but the character of Bertha Mason is the tried-and-true literary example of a "mad woman".
However outdated this interpretation is (as the book did come out in 1847...),
the legacy of Rochester's neglected wife, Bertha, continues and evolves with new, more empathetic perspectives day-by-day.
Bertha repeatedly threatens the lives of Thornfield residents, especially focused on the demise of her captor (and husband-on-paper) Rochester.
"What did you think I'd say to that?
Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?
They strike to kill and you know I will
You know I will"
Another reference unintentionally speaks to historical treatment of mentally ill people like Bertha Mason, through the vessel of Swift:
"And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out
And you find something to wrap your noose around"
And finally, a reference to Rochester's deception of Jane as viewed by Bertha:
"The master of spin
Has a couple side flings
Good wives always know
She should be mad
Should be scathing like me
But no one likes a mad woman"
As you could probably tell by the content of this article, I am a massive (Dr.) Taylor Fan, so thank you all for indulging me here. Regardless of my personal love...
Swift's use of classics in her own writing (subconsciously and consciously) only enriches her lyrics.
We are happy to welcome her impact into the Alias!
Yours in Academia (and Swiftie Support...),
Alias Indiana, the Book-Built Blog.
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