Most people assume every lyric in The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift speaking directly, giving her perspective—but what if they're not?

Understanding the secret of the unreliable narrator changes everything about how we read this album—especially the opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia.” Once you recognize when and how the narrator shifts, a whole new layer of meaning comes into focus.

In this episode, we’ll explore what the different between author and narrator + the concept of an unreliable narrator—and why it might just be the key to unlocking the entire album. 

Stick around for a the writing prompts at the end to help you try the technique yourself!

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You can find more of my personal writing and writing tips on Substack.

And visit my website to learn more about my editing, book coaching, and upcoming courses.

This isn’t just an album. It’s a novel in songs—what’s known as a concept album, carefully designed to tell cohesive story from the first track to the last. Taylor practically confirmed it herself when she said the order of the songs is crucial.

Maybe you’ve been convinced that the album really isn’t all that great, or maybe you’ve been grooving to the tunes but not quite sure what’s going on with some of the lyrics. Either way, the key to experiencing this album fully is to approach it like you would a novel. 

In this episode, I break down how viewing The Life of a Showgirl as a single cohesive narrative completely changes how we hear it. We’ll talk about how to frame the story and what motifs to look/listen for to make connections between the songs.

Come join the discussion!

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You can find more of my personal writing and writing tips on Substack.

And visit my website to learn more about my editing, book coaching, and upcoming courses.

Class is in session! 

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be walking you through a literary analysis of Taylor Swift's most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, as if it were a novel in my literature class. We’ll unpack literary techniques and analyze each song in light of the album as a whole. 

I recently retired from my day job teaching writing and literature at the high school in college level to focus on my business as an editor and book coach, but I miss the classroom. So I’m super excited to do a little teaching here on a topic that is so much fun. 

Let me know what questions you have about the album or what you most hope I will talk about! 

Come join the discussion!

TikTok

Threads

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You can find more of my personal writing and writing tips on Substack.

And visit my website to learn more about my editing, book coaching, and upcoming courses.