Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. What’s an AP class without a not-so-brief discussion about Shakespeare? Join us as we compare Taylor Swift to William Shakespeare, and find out why we think Shakespeare may have been the original pop star of his day. Shakespeare’s plays remain so relevant even today, so it’s only natural that Taylor Swift would find ways to allude to his works in her music. In this Show & Tell, we each pick one Shakespeare play and a Taylor Swift song that we feel best references and represents that play. Maansi ties Romeo & Juliet to “Love Story” (Fearless 2008), Jenn talks us through Julius Caesar references in “Bad Blood” (Reputation 2017), and Jodi draws parallels between Midsummer Night’s Dream and “Cruel Summer” (Lover 2019). We really put the AP in APTS with this discussion so push up your reading glasses, dust off your old Shakespeare text books, and get ready to get nerdy with us!

Mentioned in this episode: 

William Shakespeare

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Come Clean, Hilary Duff

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Love Story, Fearless 2008

William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, 1996 film version

Romeo and Juliet, 1968 film version

Jenn’s Zac Efron version of 1960 Romeo and Juliet

West Side Story

Bad Blood, Reputation 2017

Shakespeare Birth Trust TL;DR

Folger Shakespeare Library

Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar, Performed at the Globe Theater, 2015

Bridgerton

Shakespeare in a Divided America, by James Shapiro

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1999 film version 

Cruel Summer, Lover 2019

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Episode Highlights: 

[01:00] Shakespeare: The original pop artist

[09:38] Romeo & Juliet’s Love Story

[30:34] Julius Caesar’s Bad Blood

[51:06] Cruel Midsummer Night’s Dream

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.