Latest / gasp! the pod / ophelia in glitter: taylor swift's showgirl era

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ophelia in glitter: taylor swift's showgirl era · gasp! the pod

0:00
Stitches, which OK, she's doing things at certain times with
0:04
certain amount of ingredients and she's making a potion and I
0:07
don't know what it's going to create, but it may be a hex.
0:19
Hey guys, it's me, Haley from the podcast you're about to
0:22
listen to. I just wanted to update because
0:25
as I was editing this very podcast I recorded just a few
0:29
days ago, I found out the huge news that Taylor Swift and
0:34
Travis Kelsey are indeed engaged to be married.
0:39
This does not truly change the content of my podcast at all.
0:43
In fact, I actually think the themes that I talk about in TS12
0:47
will shed light on their relationship, as well as Taylor
0:52
Swift, TS12, and her future in general.
0:55
If you're looking for more content related to the
0:57
engagement, I've posted a longer video of my true, honest
1:02
thoughts about the couple on my Patreon, so go check that out.
1:08
Welcome back Aspers to GASP, the pod, the podcast for the gays,
1:13
the girls, and especially the gay girls.
1:15
Buckle up because we've got so much to cover this episode and
1:19
it's going to be good. It's going to be juicy.
1:22
We're talking TS12, the life of a showgirl.
1:24
Taylor Swift announced that her latest album, TS12 will be
1:28
called Life of a Showgirl and that will be coming out October
1:31
3rd. With fans around the world
1:34
rushing to find Easter eggs in her announcement, one thing
1:38
seems glaringly obvious to me, and that is Taylor Swift is
1:44
embodying Ophelia on the cover of her new album.
1:47
Even Tavis stands. Though they're swept up in the
1:50
PR storm that is Taylor appearing on New Heights, even
1:53
they seem to buy into the idea. What is Taylor trying to tie a
1:56
connection to here? Will her fate, or rather the
1:59
showgirl version of herself's fate, end up just like
2:02
Ophelia's? Or is this bigger than Ophelia?
2:05
What does the showgirl represent?
2:07
Who is the showgirl? What if Taylor is both Ophelia
2:11
and Hamlet in this story? And finally, what if these
2:14
connections don't just end at Hamlet, but extend farther?
2:18
This episode will uncover a whole new meaning to the
2:21
statement. Taylor Swift is a modern day
2:23
Shakespeare. Guys, I swear to God there's
2:27
like police sirens and stuff going outside right when I'm
2:29
trying to record this. If you're wondering why does
2:31
Haley drink every single episode lately, it's because I live in
2:35
DC Trump's America. So today I'm going to dive into
2:39
all of the Hamlet and Macbeth connections in Taylor Swift art,
2:43
life and unfolding story through TS12, AKA the Life of a
2:48
Showgirl. And I'll talk about the two
2:50
Taylors theory specifically and explore the shared metaphors
2:55
between Shakespeare's plays and how Taylor Swift writes about
2:57
her potential coming out. We'll of course, also cover
3:00
Easter eggs and highlights from the announcement of the life of
3:03
a showgirl. Duh.
3:04
Obviously. OK, before we get into all that,
3:06
just a reminder, if you're listening on Spotify or Apple or
3:10
wherever you're listening to this and you and you don't watch
3:12
on YouTube or if you are watching on YouTube and you have
3:15
not yet subscribed to my YouTube, please take this time
3:19
to to go to my YouTube and subscribe.
3:21
I have so many more listeners than I actually do YouTube
3:24
subscribers. And you might be wondering why
3:26
does that matter if you have so many listeners?
3:28
And thank you so much for listening.
3:29
It means that I can monetize my YouTube if I have a certain
3:32
amount of subscribers. So please go to my YouTube and
3:34
subscribe. It's free to do that.
3:36
And also, if you are wanting new bonus content in between
3:40
episodes, because I release episodes every two weeks, head
3:43
to my Patreon because I'm releasing a new episode this
3:47
week. This is a special one because I
3:49
was going to share like my real true feelings about the New
3:53
Heights podcast on like maybe this podcast or on TikTok.
3:56
And then I realized like, I'm going to get so much shit from
3:59
it from Swifty's. They're going to find me and
4:01
they're going to like, you know, destroy me for like my true
4:05
thoughts. So I decided I would actually
4:09
just air those out on a Patreon bonus episode.
4:12
So if you want to know my thoughts on the New Heights
4:15
podcast and go through like all the craziest moments in my
4:19
opinion from Taylor Swift on the New Heights podcast, go to my
4:24
Patreon. I'll be releasing that very
4:26
shortly. And lastly, I also released
4:28
these episodes early for all my Patreon subscribers.
4:32
So if you don't want to wait until Tuesday for an episode,
4:34
subscribe to my Patreon and you will get an early episode.
4:37
OK, OK, let's start by talking about TS12 and just like Easter
4:42
eggs and theories before I get into my Shakespeare theories.
4:46
OK, so first of all, I had no idea that we were going to get
4:49
this. I was thinking we would we get
4:51
TS12 next but I just didn't think it was going to come like
4:54
before late fall. So such a pleasant surprise, so
4:58
exciting. The only thing I would say is
5:01
hate how much Travis Kelsey is involved.
5:03
But y'all know that. I do think that that is because
5:06
this is APR moment. Like this era is showcasing how
5:11
much performance art she does off stage, which is also her
5:16
stage. So I think there's a meaning to
5:17
it. I just still hate it.
5:19
But again, she has to feed both, both of our little communities,
5:22
the Hitlers, the Gaylers and everyone in between.
5:24
You know what I mean? Gagged so far at the visuals,
5:27
gagged so far at the names of the songs, gagged at the whole
5:32
theme. Like showgirl, 1920s love.
5:36
It is also funny how, like, none of the songs that she's
5:38
announced sound like they're even going to be love songs for
5:41
Travis. And I think that's really
5:42
hilarious because like Tavis Stands have been waiting
5:46
patiently for an album about Travis and they might not even
5:49
get it. You guys.
5:50
Like I think this whole thing has been set in stone before
5:54
Travis. Like I think this is like a
5:55
prophecy. Like step by step, she's
5:58
releasing these albums to get to TS13 where I think something
6:02
big's going to happen. I think she's going to come out.
6:04
I hope I'm right. I honestly am confused by all
6:07
the colors going on in the album as well.
6:09
Like we know that karma's supposed to be orange.
6:13
This is there's a lot of orange happening, but it's not just
6:16
orange. And I guess my question is, is
6:19
this orange burning down the lover house to make way for her
6:23
to go over the rainbow into Oz? And that's why all of a sudden
6:28
these like vinyls that she's releasing are are all the colors
6:31
of the rainbow. Plus orange was the only color
6:33
she hadn't done yet. So she's kind of completed the
6:36
rainbow in her own eras. So yeah, I do think that this is
6:41
technically karma. If you guys want to go into the
6:44
karma theory, I have an episode about that.
6:46
So go check that one out. I kind of explained the karma
6:49
theory a little bit more in depth, but I do think that this
6:53
is karma. It's orange.
6:55
Karma is fire, and she's burning down her past lives.
6:58
Maybe that is burning down this performance.
7:00
Taylor. That's why I almost think it's
7:02
going to be a double album and she's going to release a Part 2
7:05
fate of a showgirl, kind of like the fate of a Filia track or
7:09
maybe the death of a showgirl, the death of a star.
7:11
Some people have theorized because there's so much
7:14
astrology going on. Again, there's so many theories
7:16
in this and I will continue to talk more about it like as the
7:20
album gets closer, and I also have many take talks on it as
7:23
well. There's just so many themes in
7:25
here that are just so juicy, and even if they're not even like
7:29
what Taylor has intentionally tried to do, it's just so
7:32
they're so interesting to think about.
7:34
Her announcing karma the night of a meteor shower, like right
7:37
after a full moon is pretty wild and pretty witchy of her.
7:41
And also, let's remember karma is like a core concept in
7:43
astrology. And the other theory that I know
7:45
we've all tossed around and thought about that I still do
7:48
believe is going to happen is the 321 exile theory that I
7:52
think she set into motion with midnights.
7:54
And she was saying all this stuff with midnights being like,
7:56
OK, the clock, it's a clock. Like there's four quarters of
8:00
the clock. And I think midnights was the
8:02
1st and then she counted down and it's counting down to 13.
8:06
We also have like the Exiles over Easter egg in the 321 and I
8:09
think that that makes so much sense and feels like such a
8:13
Taylor thing to do. Where Midnight's had three AM
8:16
bonus tracks, TTPD had two AM bonus tracks.
8:20
I think TS12, The Life of a Showgirl slash Karma will have
8:25
bonus tracks. At least one more bonus truck at
8:29
1:00 AM, which makes way for midnight where I think we're
8:33
going to meet. Meet me at midnight, Meet Taylor
8:36
at midnight. And that's going to be TS13, the
8:38
real Taylor. That's what I think.
8:40
And perhaps karma. This era is fire and burning
8:43
down the eras of her and maybe the last hurrah of like the
8:47
performance Taylor before it's all burnt down.
8:49
Question mark, that's what I think.
8:51
There's also just so much like Bejeweled Midnights like energy
8:55
with all the visuals. The Bejeweled music video is so
8:59
like showgirl. We see Dina Von Tees in it and a
9:02
lot of people have theorized that TTPD wasn't meant to be
9:06
written and that it was like kind of a, you know, a blip in
9:11
between Midnights and TS12. I totally disagree.
9:15
I think maybe you know those tracks you hadn't like written
9:18
before that, but the black and white psych ward to full color
9:24
showgirl feels very intentional. And I think Midnights is setting
9:28
the scene of these huge themes and these fairy tales and these
9:33
larger stories about like kingdoms and castles and
9:37
becoming the king of the castle and karma and all of this stuff.
9:42
And I think that BTPD is like the black and white tortured
9:45
poet. And then TS12 is like life of
9:48
showgirl is showgirl performance art Taylor.
9:51
And I think TS 13 is real Taylor.
9:53
Also, this like fairy tale theory of like meet me at
9:57
Midnight just feels so poignant and relevant because like, what
10:01
happens at midnight in Cinderella, the fairy dust, you
10:05
know, the magic is removed, OK? And all of a sudden she is her
10:10
again, the real Cinderella. And she doesn't have the
10:14
carriage. She doesn't have like the
10:15
beautiful dress and she's just her.
10:18
And that just feels so relevant to like, the clock is taking
10:22
down to win, the magic wears off.
10:25
And it's really just Taylor at TS13.
10:28
And like, maybe even after all that, she will still get the
10:32
castle and exile will end. I don't know, you know, like, we
10:36
don't know what's going to happen.
10:37
These are all just theories. And we'll see what she does with
10:39
them. OK.
10:40
Let's also talk about the phrase that like, Hitler's love to use.
10:43
And I'll talk more about the podcast again in this bonus
10:45
episode on Patreon. But this phrase of what Taylor
10:48
said in the podcast quote, I never Easter egg about my own
10:51
personal life. A she's a Tay liar because
10:55
braids of lies. That's a huge visual that she
10:58
used for one of these like CD covers for TS12.
11:01
There's like literally braids behind her.
11:04
And we know that that's a lyric. She used braids of lies to
11:07
Pinocchio. There's a little Pinocchio
11:09
behind them in the New Heights podcast.
11:12
For what reason? People are coming up with the
11:14
stupidest reasons beyond like the one thing we know Pinocchio
11:19
like symbolizes in popular culture, the one thing he lies.
11:24
He can't help but lie. His nose grows bigger.
11:27
Why is that so confusing to people?
11:28
Everyone's like, Oh my God, would maybe he's a real boy.
11:30
The man. I'm like, you guys are thinking
11:32
too much. She's a liar.
11:34
Like what? And then three, it's just not
11:36
true. She Easter eggs about her
11:38
personal life all the time. So and then a lot of people who
11:40
comment that in order to like refute a Gaylord statement, it's
11:44
like, even though I also do think that she does Easter egg
11:47
about her personal life, Easter egging is not a queer lyric.
11:51
So if she's just writing a queer lyric, it's like she's writing
11:54
lyrics about her personal life. She never said she doesn't write
11:57
lyrics about her personal life. But remember, she's a liar.
11:59
OK, I can show you lies. I also think this era and even
12:03
just like the touch of it that we've seen so far has really
12:08
confirmed that performance. Arler, she is a thing and in the
12:12
podcast she says she says performance art.
12:15
OK, what is performance art? It's not a performance.
12:19
She didn't have to use the word performance art.
12:21
And that's a that's a phrase that Gaylors have been saying
12:24
since the beginning of the errors to her, especially when
12:26
Travis Kelce went on stage and they performed I can do with a
12:29
broken heart. She did not have to confirm that
12:32
Gaylord theory. She could have just said
12:35
performance, but she didn't. And also if she knew that
12:37
Gaylors were saying that she like hated Gaylors so much, she
12:40
wouldn't have used that phrase. We're going to talk so much more
12:43
about performance art and performance art LER next episode
12:46
because I have an exciting special Gaylord guest next
12:50
episode. So this era and how like she
12:53
talks so much about like being a showgirl and her being on stage,
12:58
even though she says that she's going to like show what goes on
13:00
behind the curtain. The veil of the era is showgirl
13:06
performance. And I think this just Harkins
13:08
back to the 2 Taylors theory that we see from antihero.
13:11
There's the real Taylor, there's like the poet, there's the one
13:14
who wears like gay clothing because like literally in the
13:17
antihero music video, the like poet Taylor looks gayer.
13:21
And perhaps this Taylor was killed off in reputation.
13:28
And I think this is very plausible because in the Look
13:31
What You Made Me Do music video, there's a grave of her.
13:34
And she says the old Taylor can't come to the phone right
13:36
now. She's dead.
13:37
What if reputation killed off the old Taylor and now all we
13:42
have is this performance Taylor and then that one needs to be
13:45
killed off too. More to that later.
13:48
But yeah, this performance Taylor is the on stage
13:50
performer. And she's also not just on
13:53
stage, but she is the outward persona.
13:56
Taylor in pop culture and in real life.
13:58
The stage is not just the heiress to her stage.
14:01
And I think that's what a lot of mainstream Swifties are not
14:03
really getting at. This is the tailor that has to
14:06
lie to protect herself, to protect the real one inside.
14:10
OK. Also, the night of the
14:12
announcement, you know, there's so much green going on with the
14:15
orange. And I think, like, I went live
14:17
with a lot of people and we were like, why is it green?
14:20
We're thinking like what if this is her referencing like the
14:23
Emerald City and karma as the fire in your house is going to
14:27
burn the lover house down in this era to make way for her to
14:31
get to the Emerald City if that makes sense.
14:34
And the black and white TTPD era of her being in Kansas City and
14:39
her in a fucking psych ward because she was going insane
14:41
because she hated it here so much and she was going to lunar
14:44
planets in her mind of the Emerald City.
14:48
And that these were all just dreams of Oz.
14:52
And it really makes sense for, you know, the Wizard of Oz.
14:56
These are these like dreamscapes.
14:57
And in the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is having a dream and what does
15:02
she dream of? This Technicolor world.
15:04
And what if we are now in this Technicolor world with life of
15:08
showgirl. The last song we got on TTPD was
15:12
Clarabo. Clarabo was a 1920s dancer
15:15
showgirl who's also bisexual. But when you also think of like
15:19
other showgirls and also like famous women, like abused by
15:21
Hollywood, which is a think is what she's going to talk about a
15:24
lot in this album or sing about, you think of Judy Garland, who
15:28
played Dorothy. Think it just makes so much
15:31
sense for the Wizard of Oz to be a theme here and that she has to
15:35
like go over the rainbow to get here.
15:38
Also meet me at midnight and me. The music video is pretty much
15:41
like the Emerald City. Like there's so much connected
15:44
here is the lover house like literally like the house like
15:47
from Kansas that like fell down into Oz.
15:50
I also think like Taylor Swift would be someone to like choose
15:54
a beard because he plays for the Kansas Chiefs and she could be
15:58
like, Oh my God, it's perfect for my little Wizard of Oz story
16:01
of like black and white Kansas to this like Technicolor rainbow
16:04
gay world. It's actually hilarious.
16:06
And then this of course, begs the question, is she out of the
16:09
woods? Out of the woods song in Wizard
16:12
of Oz is so similar to the Taylor Swift song out of the
16:15
woods. I don't even know how she like
16:17
didn't have to pay some rights to that song because it's so
16:20
similar. As they see Emerald City, I
16:31
mean, come on. It also just reminds me of
16:33
Daylight. But in the podcast, more to this
16:35
theory on new heights or whatever, she also does say that
16:38
this album will reveal what's going on behind the curtain.
16:43
And this very much seems like a reference to the Wizard of Oz
16:46
and like how this is a performance, guys.
16:50
And I think also my question is with this theory, is she Dorothy
16:53
or is she the Wizard? Or is she both?
16:55
She could be the man behind the curtain and Dorothy is the
17:00
Wizard, the performer and Dorothy the real Taylor.
17:03
Like there's so much to, there's so many places to go with these
17:06
theories. And that's why it's so fun.
17:07
And that's why it's like, how is this harmful?
17:11
It's just so annoying. People are like, Oh my God, you
17:12
guys are just so obsessed with her sexuality.
17:14
And like, do you even listen to what gaylors talk about?
17:17
We're like so deep into like, this is like barely about
17:22
sexuality at this point. Like this is just literary
17:25
analysis, film analysis and art analysis.
17:28
And then yeah, finally, I think I mentioned this before, but
17:30
like, this could be her with all these variants and vinyls
17:33
completing the rainbow so that she can go over the rainbow and
17:37
reach Emerald City, hopefully. Finally, I wanted to talk about
17:40
this theory that I came up with and listen, we can run with it.
17:45
No need to if you don't, you know, if it doesn't resonate for
17:48
you. But I was just thinking about
17:51
like, if there's a double album, if there's going to be bonus
17:54
tracks, I think there's going to be at least one bonus track or a
17:58
documentary, which just makes so much sense that she's going to
18:01
release a documentary because like, guys, they were filming at
18:04
the end. Where's all that footage?
18:07
And then also, is there going to be a Broadway show?
18:09
Is she going to do residency in Vegas?
18:11
I feel like that happens like at the end of someone's career, is
18:13
she going to make a movie about this?
18:15
Like there's so many ways that like she could take this.
18:18
But I do think there's going to be at least an announcement or
18:21
another track or a whole new, you know, election of tracks
18:25
after this release on October 3rd.
18:27
And when she released the whole shiny bug collection, my mind
18:31
was like spinning. And those of you who are on Live
18:33
with me as well. I think that like so much
18:36
imagery and there's so many themes that are part of this
18:39
that could go in any direction, It's going to be so interesting
18:42
to see like what comes to fruition because they don't
18:44
think anyone's wrong when it comes to like what the bug could
18:47
mean. Some people were saying, oh,
18:50
it's like a computer bug, it's a glitch.
18:52
Totally think that. That's very relevant to this.
18:54
Again, there's probably a double meaning, but also makes me think
18:58
of like swallowing a family wore my little bug brats today.
19:02
So I have this theory that maybe she's going to release a double
19:05
album and then the second part, the bonus tracks or track will
19:08
be released on Halloween. Stay with me here.
19:11
It makes sense with the colors, a lot of these colors and maybe
19:15
it's all rainbow, but some of these colors are like green and
19:19
orange and purple. And that just gives Halloween
19:22
and it gives witches and this shiny bug collection.
19:27
So as many people pointed out, Taylor swallowed to fly three
19:31
times during the Eras tour. Again, this 3 is very relevant
19:35
because 321 exiles over, she's counting down to midnight.
19:39
It also made a lot of us think on live the poem there was an
19:43
old lady who swallowed to fly. And this poem is like very
19:46
classic poem of like she swallowed to fly.
19:49
Don't know why she swallowed to fly.
19:50
Perhaps she'll die. It just feels very relevant to
19:53
Taylor. It also sounds like swallowing.
19:54
So to lie, I feel like this is a metaphor for her swallowing lies
20:00
and it's getting bigger and bigger and worse and worse and
20:03
she can't handle it anymore until she dies.
20:05
And this like of her swallowing a bug during the era's tour is
20:09
an Easter egg for this. There's no way she swallowed a
20:12
bug three times for no reason. And there's no way it just like
20:15
amped up to this collection and she just randomly was like, oh
20:19
shiny bug ha ha, I swallowed a bug.
20:21
Like there's more to it. There has to be.
20:23
There's a lot of connection between witches and beetles.
20:26
Onyx, Wintergreen, and violets these vinyls were named after.
20:31
That's just very interesting to me.
20:32
Taylor Swift loves to talk about astrology, karma, witchiness,
20:37
elements, prophecy, Onyx, Wintergreen, Violet flowers.
20:42
She's making a potion. Bitch like this is not for fun.
20:46
She's not naming something Onyx and beetle like this bitch.
20:50
This bitch is a witch, OK? She's doing things at certain
20:54
times with certain amount of ingredients and she's making a
20:57
potion and I don't know what it's going to create but it may
21:00
be a hex. I hope it is hex girl.
21:03
It just made me think if this album is karma and karma is
21:06
fire, is it not just going to burn down the lover house but is
21:08
it going to burn her down with it?
21:10
Is it going to burn a witch? When does everyone talk about
21:13
witches Halloween and just makes sense with the colors, Halloween
21:17
colors and like all of these elements that are used in
21:21
witchcraft. And oh, and by the way, I have a
21:23
whole episode on witchcraft. It's in my first season.
21:27
I had so much fun making it. I did so much research and I'm
21:31
so into witchcraft now due to my research and just getting into
21:34
it. Thank you, Taylor Swift, and
21:35
thank you to all the witches in my comment section.
21:39
But I'm probably going to make another Halloween witch episode
21:42
because there's so much to talk about with witches, with
21:46
lesbians, with like feminism, with pop culture, with Taylor
21:49
Swift. It's never ending.
21:52
And it's like so fun and interesting and like, cool to
21:56
get into. Is the fire burning the witch?
22:00
Is that going to be the death of a showgirl or the death of a
22:03
star? And could that be the Part 2 to
22:07
life of a showgirl? Like the life is really setting
22:10
us up for a death, ego death perhaps.
22:13
OK, that was a lot of theories. There's so much here that has
22:17
been like spinning in my brain. If you want me to go more in
22:20
depth and like any of these specific theories, let me know.
22:24
And I also have Tik Toks on all of these as well.
22:27
But what I wanted to talk about for like the bulk of the
22:31
episode, and it might not even end up being the bulk of the
22:33
episode because of how long it took me to explain those
22:36
theories. But what I really wanted to,
22:38
like, focus on and shed light on is these connections to
22:42
Shakespeare plays. I don't think this is accidental
22:46
at all. And I think there's so much to
22:49
this theory. We're not really reaching when
22:52
we talk about Taylor's connections in our music and I
22:55
think in her, like, own life story and almost aligning it
22:59
with these Shakespeare plays and the story of Hamlet and the
23:02
story of Macbeth. This isn't a stretch anymore
23:05
because the cover of The Life of a Showgirl is literally her
23:09
drowning. It's giving Ophelia.
23:11
And then of course she has a song.
23:14
She's a track that we haven't heard yet called The Fate of
23:16
Ophelia. So what could that mean?
23:19
Bare minimum. Like literally bare minimum.
23:22
From like a hetler perspective. There is no way you could make
23:28
meaning out of this connection without having to confront that
23:33
the fate of Ophelia is due to the men in her life thinking
23:37
she's insane and creating turmoil around her.
23:40
Don't. I don't know how you confront
23:42
the fact that like in Ophelia's life, her brother, her father
23:48
and her lover, this is all chaos around her.
23:52
And if Taylor is Ophelia but you think her brother, father and
23:55
Travis are perfect, there is so much more than needs the eye.
23:59
And that's why it's like, I don't know how you could be in
24:02
mainstream Swifty or Hitler Swifty and not see what Taylor's
24:06
trying to tell us in her music besides even the queerness.
24:09
More of like talking about the men in her life.
24:12
Like, even though she is so in control, she's Taylor Swift,
24:14
she's a billionaire, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
24:16
Did you guys watch Miss Americana?
24:18
Who is on her team? Who is controlling her
24:22
decisions? Who's telling her you shouldn't
24:23
say this about politics? Her father, these other men who
24:27
manage her company and her image and her brand.
24:31
And so it's like when everyone's like, Oh my God, she would come
24:33
out if she wants to. I'm like, do you know how hard
24:36
it was for her to say she didn't even like Trump?
24:38
That was controversial for her to say that was so hard for her
24:41
to get approval for. So think about how hard it would
24:45
be for her to come out and like have her team be on board with
24:49
that. I'm just saying, let's talk
24:50
about Hamlet 1st and also the track father figure.
24:54
You know, hopefully it's a sexy song of her being like I'm
24:57
daddy, but it might also be about her father.
25:00
I don't know. Swifties get so upset when we
25:02
think that she's talking about her dad.
25:03
Like it's the craziest thing that she writes a song about her
25:06
dad you guys like so it's fucked up if we say she might be
25:09
writing a song about her father but it's not fucked up for you
25:12
guys to say she's in her ovulation era.
25:15
You guys are freaks and not in the fun way.
25:17
All right, TLDR if you don't know what happens in Hamlet, I
25:21
read both Hamlet and Macbeth. I did reading up on it and this
25:26
is just the TLDR but any literary nerds feel free to
25:29
correct me. But this is pretty much non
25:31
negotiable. Like this is standard readings
25:35
of these plays. Like these plays have been
25:37
around for hundreds of years. These are not like unique takes
25:41
of what I'm saying about the play.
25:42
The unique take is the connection to Taylor Swift and
25:44
maybe about her queerness and whatever.
25:47
But that's why I think there's so much this theory.
25:50
These are clear readings of these plays and Taylor's clearly
25:54
attaching herself to the story of Hamlet.
25:56
Like there's not much. There's not really much of a gap
25:59
to jump. OK TLDR Hamlet's father is
26:02
killed by his uncle. Hamlet wants revenge.
26:06
OK Ophelia is Hamlet's lover. I'm missing a lot here but this
26:11
is the basics that you need to understand for this theory.
26:14
Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius, who is Ophelia's
26:18
father. Don't worry, why?
26:20
Doesn't matter. All of the men in this story
26:23
are, most of them so focused on power and vengeance and revenge.
26:29
Meanwhile, Ophelia is pretty much ignored and goes insane.
26:35
Or does she? Right.
26:37
Ophelia then hands out specific flowers to townspeople to
26:43
signify a certain meaning, her own judgement of them through
26:49
these symbols, And she then drowns herself in the river.
26:53
OK, Hamlet and many others are dying.
26:56
There's a lot of, like, people stabbing each other and people
26:59
drinking poisonous wine. And, you know, everyone's, like,
27:02
getting vengeance on each other. OK, Ophelia's brother is trying
27:06
to kill Hamlet. It's crazy.
27:07
Finally, Hamlet at the end of all of this kills his uncle
27:13
finally for revenge, but as he's actively dying, so he barely
27:18
gets to do it. And before he could do that, all
27:21
these other people die. What did he really do?
27:24
You know what I mean? How did he really help the end?
27:27
So what is this play about? This is a play about vengeance,
27:30
madness, murder, death and ghosts.
27:34
Sounds kind of Taylor Swift ask to me.
27:37
Polonius says actually about Hamlet though this be madness
27:42
yet there is method in it that sounds so much like mastermind.
27:46
I also did watch Don't judge me. I also did watch John Green's
27:51
analysis and like reading and like summary of Hamlet and
27:56
Macbeth because I was curious and like he does just such a
27:58
good job and he had the most poignant quotes that I have so
28:03
many of them written down. I have to share with you guys
28:05
because they are crazy. They are so Taylor Swift esque
28:11
that I was losing my mind and I have to share them with you and
28:14
bear you in mind. He didn't, he didn't make this
28:17
to be Taylor Swift related. This is just how much these two
28:21
plays relate back to Taylor Swift and her themes and her
28:24
music and her art and how she's, like depicting her own story.
28:27
I think John Green says, quote, the desire for vengeance
28:31
ultimately corrupts the revenge and he or she has to die too.
28:36
Does that not sound like Taylor Swift and like this focus on
28:39
revenge and vengeance over Scooter Braun, Kanye, maybe her
28:44
management not letting her come out.
28:46
And what does this all end in? She it corrupts her and she has
28:50
to die too. The performance, Taylor,
28:52
possibly Hamlet is also a play within a play.
28:54
So there's a play that happens within this play.
28:56
Yeah, Doesn't it sound like I can do it with a broken heart?
28:59
And like Taylor doing this play on stage of her having to do the
29:03
errors to her while she's on stage and her doing performance
29:07
art while she's doing performance art.
29:09
It's crazy. It's literally crazy related and
29:14
like this could also apply to her being the podcast and like
29:16
her just like doing pop walks. What's also really annoying is I
29:19
know that all of a sudden Hitler's are going to be like,
29:21
wait, guys, I think Taylor like going on dinner dates and doing
29:26
pop walks is actually part of like the business Taylor and
29:29
we're going to be like right. Isn't it funny how like we
29:32
always call a theory before everyone else catches up to it,
29:36
but then they'll water it down and they'll make it not Gaylor
29:39
related? So this whole Hamlet analysis
29:42
and these connections to Taylor Swift very much fit in, in my
29:45
opinion, to the tooth Taylor's theory.
29:48
Here's my theory. Are you ready for it?
29:50
One is Hamlet Taylor the showgirl, And is Ophelia Taylor,
29:57
the real Taylor the poet, innocent soul.
30:01
I think Hamlet might be the man. And remember how during the Man
30:05
music video, Taylor's dressed up obviously, as the man, and she's
30:08
staring right at Karma. And this whole play, Hamlet is
30:12
so focused on Karma, revenge, vengeance right?
30:17
I think Hamlet is the showgirl, the performance.
30:20
This is the Taylor who thinks everyone will betray her.
30:23
Think of the anti hero music video and of Taylor the
30:27
performance. Taylor pointing to the board and
30:30
saying everyone will betray you. This is very much Hamlet coded
30:34
of vengeance and like thinking everyone is out to get them.
30:38
I think Hamlet is the life of a showgirl.
30:41
And my question is will Taylor? Will this Taylor die too?
30:44
Just like Hamlet dies at the very end.
30:46
Is this, you know, a, is this foreshadowing death of showgirl?
30:50
And also, like, there's a lot of choice happening here of Hamlet
30:53
trying to figure out whether or not to kill his uncle for
30:58
vengeance and like, how to do it and when to do it.
31:00
And it's a huge decision for him to make.
31:03
This feels very much like Taylor trying to figure out when or if
31:07
she wants to come out. And John Green has a quote.
31:09
I'm just going to keep on quoting John Green because these
31:11
are such relevant quotes that I have to so sorry, literary
31:16
nerds. And Green says, quote, when
31:18
Hamlet makes up his mind, he's dying.
31:20
He's like seconds left to live. And I think that this is like
31:24
would be Taylor coming out right at the very end of her career as
31:28
this image of the perfect Taylor is already dying.
31:32
Then Ophelia might be the real Taylor, the poet Taylor.
31:36
What if Ophelia is TTPD could be the one who goes mad in a psych
31:43
ward who goes insane? Or does she?
31:46
Is it possible that Taylor died in the reputation era like the
31:49
real innocent one because everything had been exploited
31:53
and Kanye happened and she was cancelled.
31:55
And also kiss Kate happened and like everyone found out about
31:58
her and Carly and maybe her management told her to shut it
32:00
down and she like, you know, the innocent part of her died
32:04
because she had to keep this part of her secret.
32:06
I think that could really make sense.
32:08
John Green also says about Ophelia quote.
32:11
Ophelia views her death as the only way to free herself.
32:16
Maybe that's the only way Taylor could like, manage to do this
32:19
and free herself by like, killing off this queer innocent
32:24
poet version of herself for the public eye and sectioning it
32:28
away. Like she couldn't be successful
32:31
and queer. It's a whole different like
32:33
level of success. And I really take issue with
32:36
people thinking that like her coming out would be like no big
32:39
deal in the world. Like that actually pisses me off
32:42
because you think that like homophobia just doesn't exist.
32:44
She's a global superstar. Think about people around the
32:47
world, think about conservatives, whatever whole
32:50
other topic. Hamlet is also very much a play
32:52
about mirroring and doubling. Doesn't that sound very much
32:56
like Taylor Swift Doubling in meaning but also doubling
32:59
herself? The 2 Taylors mirror ball
33:01
mirroring herself to fit everyone's perspective of her,
33:05
fitting herself to like, give everyone what they want until it
33:08
explodes, until she can't take anymore, Until there's the death
33:10
of a star. John Green says quote.
33:13
You can even see Ophelia as a kind of extreme subversive
33:17
double for Hamlet. Like what Hamlet might be like
33:21
if he were robbed of power. Doesn't that sound like what the
33:24
real Taylor is like? She wouldn't have as much power
33:28
if she was like queer and authentic.
33:30
I think. I just think that this Ophelia
33:33
and Hamlet dynamic is Taylor playing like this idea of what
33:37
it would be like to be a man, but more so she turned the man
33:40
into this like outward persona of Taylor Swift.
33:45
And John Green says when you look in the mirror, are you
33:48
seeing the person that is actually you?
33:51
That blew my mind because it just again reminds me of the
33:54
anti here music video with the performance Taylor looking into
33:59
the mirror and the real Taylor, the poet Taylor in a white
34:03
innocent tank top. The real 1 you know pure
34:08
innocent is looking in the mirror and who is who.
34:12
Like these are two people in one body.
34:16
And it just feels like this is so specific to this comment.
34:18
Like I was like, holy shit, John Green, what is going on?
34:22
Do you are you friends to Taylor Swift?
34:24
Did she pay you to do this? An antihero?
34:26
Taylor Swift literally says I'll stare directly at the sun but
34:29
never in the mirror. It must be exhausting.
34:32
Always rooting for the antihero. I think that's really relevant
34:35
too, because Hamlet is like the supposed to be this hero to get
34:40
revenge in this story, but he barely can do it and at the end
34:43
he only caused more turmoil around him.
34:47
I think antihero is just so relevant to like these theories.
34:50
And I think like Midnight's again, like I said, just really
34:53
sets into motion a lot of these themes that we're going to see
34:56
play out for like this era. And then I think TS 13, then we
34:59
get into this really, really interesting part about Ophelia
35:02
handing out flowers to the townspeople and what John Green
35:06
says about this. Yes, get over it.
35:09
I'm talking about John Green quote.
35:11
This is Ophelia delivering her own form of judgement, doing it
35:15
in her own particularly feminine way behind the mask of seeming
35:20
madness. Guys like this is literally
35:24
Taylor being like or are they going to send me away?
35:28
I was supposed to be sent away. Like her waking up, her being in
35:32
a psych ward, her being having shock therapy, like her going
35:36
insane. This is literally so relevant
35:39
and I think that Philia is TTPD Taylor the poet.
35:42
She hands out these flowers and each one has a very specific
35:45
meaning and code. Isn't that very interesting to
35:48
send a message to each person? This is also a metaphor for
35:53
Taylor Swift's Easter eggs having a very specific meaning
35:57
and maybe even queer flagging. I'll tell you why I also think
36:01
flowers are also metaphor for karma or justice.
36:04
The flowers in the painting of Ophelia with all the flowers of
36:09
her after she drowned in the river.
36:10
I know other people pointed this out, but it just looks so much
36:13
like the heiress to her piano as well.
36:15
And just like, Taylor has so many songs talking about these
36:18
flowers and like, lavender and roses and carnations you had
36:24
thought were roses and violets and daisies.
36:29
And it's like they don't have no meaning.
36:32
She's not just throwing this flower out for no meaning.
36:35
These all have a meaning. Just like Ophelia gave meaning
36:39
to each of these flowers. My God, she's insane.
36:41
She's insane. None of this actually matters.
36:43
Like. But it does.
36:44
She's smarter than we all give her credit for, Like Ophelia.
36:48
Like, they're just not devoid of meaning.
36:50
OK. John Green says, quote, these
36:52
flowers each have meaning that would be known to the
36:55
Elizabethan audience, who were the kind of people who liked
37:00
their bouquets to contain secret codes like the Gaylors and how
37:06
we like, you know, our little giggler flagging or queer
37:09
flagging. And then he says she's doing it
37:12
in a way that's clear. I mean, at least it will be
37:15
clear to with Loza Bethens. And I think that's so relevant.
37:19
It's like it's clear to some people who get it.
37:21
If you know, you know, takes one to no one cowboy like me, crazy
37:25
to me. Like that statement, I was like,
37:27
holy shit. This is just so relevant to
37:30
Taylor Swift and her songwriting.
37:31
OK. Then Ophelia says that she would
37:34
have give it out violets but said they all withered when her
37:37
father died. And that's really relevant
37:40
because Taylor named one of these vinyls Violet Shimmer.
37:43
Here's the craziest part, you guys.
37:45
She names a Daisy but doesn't actually give it out to anyone.
37:50
Ophelia names a Daisy, which is seen as symbolic of her belief
37:56
that there is no more true innocence left in this town.
38:03
Guys, Kaylor Daisy don't blame me.
38:06
And then it just reminds me so much of that pin, that Taylor
38:09
Swift ward in the Lover era with the gravestone and the Daisy
38:13
next to it saying I tried Daisy, a flower that Ophelia gives out
38:18
to no one because no one deserves it because there's no
38:23
innocence left. And then she has it next to the
38:25
gravestone saying I tried gravestone.
38:29
She's dead, just like Ophelia who died.
38:33
It's too specific. It's actually fucking crazy.
38:38
Either she's a mastermind or like this is just her inherent
38:41
prophecy because there's too many things that match up.
38:44
Truly, truly Hamlet crazy. Let's move on to Macbeth, which
38:49
will be a little bit shorter, AKA the Scottish play because,
38:52
and you should say this if you're, if you're ever in a
38:54
theater, because a apparently if you say Macbeth in a theatre,
39:00
you will be cursed because the witches that are in the story
39:02
that I'll tell you about. But yeah, so many people have
39:05
died during the productions of Macbeth when they say Macbeth in
39:10
the theatre that people now say the Scottish play because like,
39:13
people been killed by real daggers or like falling off the
39:15
stage or like crazy shit. So anyways, TLDR, what's the
39:19
story? Macbeth.
39:20
This takes place in Scotland. OK.
39:23
He receives A prophecy. Yeah, the prophecy, obviously
39:28
Taylor Swift doesn't have, like, a specific lyric that's like,
39:30
called Macbeth or like the fate of Macbeth.
39:33
But like, it's not now at this point, we know she, like, knows
39:36
a lot about Hamlet. She's obviously reading Macbeth.
39:38
She's incorporating a lot of these Shakespeare themes into
39:41
her music. And also very quick pause.
39:43
Like Taylor Swift has had so many Plaid pap walks before this
39:47
era. Like, it just feels so relevant
39:50
that she's like, maybe Easter egging Macbeth.
39:53
I don't know, no. And maybe karma at the same
39:55
time. But yeah, like when I tell you
39:58
about some of these like themes, it just is so to the Swift coded
40:01
and like she wouldn't have stopped at Hamlet.
40:04
She's a literary nerd. Macbeth receives a prophecy from
40:07
a trio of witches, Three of them.
40:09
He will be king of Scotland one day.
40:12
Isn't that just so like Taylor Swift coded?
40:14
But he has to kill to get there. OK he does kill the king and
40:19
then he then becomes king again. This is very TLDR. OK he then
40:23
becomes the king. He is the king of the castle.
40:26
But then he is killed and the rightful heir becomes king.
40:30
So in both of these stories the like hero or the anti hero
40:35
rather is killed. OK this is a play about
40:40
prophecies, ambition, witches, ghosts, murder and choice.
40:46
Again, very Taylor Swift coded. Macbeth literally cannot resist
40:50
his own ambition. And I feel like this is so
40:53
relevant to Taylor Swift because a lot of people are like, Oh my
40:56
God, if she was gay, why would she like be hiding it all this
40:58
time? I've been saying this for so
41:00
long. She knows she cannot be at this
41:04
pinnacle of success if she is queer.
41:07
I think she has this like huge ambition, like as she said, like
41:12
covert narcissism, this desire to be famous, like a fame
41:16
monster, monster on the hill. She doesn't want to give it up.
41:20
Like she has this ambition to be as as famous as she can be, like
41:25
Macbeth, to be the king of the castle, to be the king, to rule
41:29
out the land. Reminds me of the Bejeweled
41:31
music video where she goes to the Prince and got the keys to
41:34
the castle. When she goes to the Prince, is
41:37
that really her killing off the Prince and is that like
41:40
interpreted as murdering? Like I ghosted him, killed him?
41:44
I don't know, just think it's interesting.
41:46
Could that be interpreted as murder the Prince?
41:49
Also back to antihero, because again, I do think Midnight's
41:54
created the themes. She says I have this dream.
41:57
My daughter-in-law kills me for the money.
42:00
She thinks I left them in the will.
42:02
The family gathers around and reads it and then someone
42:04
screams out. She's laughing up at us from
42:06
hell. She knows that she is not this
42:10
perfect person. She is the anti hero.
42:12
Dear reader, find yourself another hero or what does she
42:15
say? Never take advice from someone
42:17
who's falling apart again. These desperate prayers of a
42:19
curse man comes from dear reader, crazy.
42:24
You should find another guiding light is what she says.
42:27
So I think she knows that like she has this like narcissistic
42:31
quality. She's not pretending to be this
42:33
perfect person, which is like, she's like, no, I have so much
42:36
ambition and I'm doing this to be famous.
42:38
I think that's really interesting.
42:40
And like, yeah, that's toxic. And like, I want her to be more
42:44
political. And I want, you know, I think
42:46
this would all be worth it if, you know, comes to fruition.
42:49
Like, I will excuse all of her sins.
42:51
And I also think it's kind of iconic for, like, a woman to be
42:54
doing it for once instead of a man.
42:57
Usually it's men who are the toxic fame monsters, like
43:00
Macbeth and like Hamlin. And that's why she's the man.
43:02
What would it be like about bragging about getting bitches
43:04
and models? But yeah, when she says an
43:07
antihero, like I had this dream, my daughter-in-law kills me for
43:10
the money. So similar.
43:12
That's so similar to Macbeth being the king and then being
43:16
killed off and then the rightful heir becomes king.
43:20
That's crazy. Macbeth also says in the play
43:22
quote, a dagger of the mind of false creation.
43:27
Reminds me of daylight throughout our cloaks and our
43:29
daggers now because it's morning now, it's brighter now.
43:32
It is this like push and pull of darkness and light of choice of
43:38
being a good person versus a bad person as John Green says it
43:42
this ambiguous morality that is so Taylor Swift coded it's not
43:47
even funny. OK, now we get to such an
43:50
interesting part. Witches and half truths.
43:52
So if you remember these witches, this trio of witches
43:57
321 exiles over how many witch stuff does she have?
44:00
Goes back to my witch theory. But there's a huge thing in this
44:04
play about witches and half truths.
44:07
Again, this is not something that is like you have to dig
44:10
deep to find. This is a main theme.
44:13
So for Swifties or like hedlers that are like, Oh my God, you
44:17
guys like search for the craziest shit and they're
44:19
actively thinking she does Morse code, which maybe she does, I
44:23
don't know, I can't speak Morse code.
44:25
But like this is not digging that deep.
44:27
If you think she's like maybe tying a connection to Macbeth,
44:29
this is like very, this is a very clear thing that happens in
44:33
Macbeth. So the witches say continuously
44:35
through the play quote, fair is foul and foul is fair.
44:39
I'm sure you've heard that many times.
44:41
This is like obviously a statement of contradiction and
44:44
double meaning sounds relevant because Taylor loves a double
44:47
meaning of a lyric. And also, maybe it's not just in
44:50
her lyrics, but it's in her performance of a being a star,
44:55
right? What's very interesting about
44:57
this is that John Green says yes.
45:00
Back to John Green quote. A lot of scholars link this
45:03
linguistic ambivalence to the issue of equivocation, which
45:08
means answering in ways that are deliberately unclear.
45:14
How many times are like Hitler's and Swifties or Hitler's and
45:18
Gaylors debating one sentence that Taylor Swift says being
45:22
like, no, it means this. No, it means this.
45:23
No, it means this. Whether in lyrics, whether it's
45:25
her being like, you know, she could have easily said I'm
45:27
straight or I'm not queer or I'm not part of the LGBTQ community.
45:33
She doesn't even say that. She says, I didn't realize until
45:36
recently I could advocate for a community I'm not a part of.
45:40
A community doesn't even say which one.
45:43
That is deliberately unclear. Jesus saying half truths and
45:49
equivocation is actually a method historically used by
45:53
Catholics. Catholic here to avoid
45:55
persecution while also not sacrificing their own beliefs
46:00
and their own identities. So Catholics would avoid saying
46:05
I'm not Catholic or I am a Catholic and saying some half
46:09
truth that they wouldn't be persecuted, but they also
46:12
wouldn't be like sacrificing what they know was true to
46:15
themselves. So Taylor is never going to be
46:17
like, I am straight. He's not in this, you know, time
46:22
of ambivalence and half truths. She's not going to say I am
46:25
queer. She's going to say lip.
46:26
So scarlet, they were maroon. She's going to say closets like
46:30
cedar. She is being deliberately
46:33
unclear. She's doing half truths and it
46:37
is working for everyone and no one at the same time like these
46:42
witches. Like they're double meanings to
46:44
everything. Also, there's a really
46:46
interesting rumor that Macbeth was actually written by someone
46:49
else as well, which just made me think of the theory that she
46:54
might be a ghost writer for Seven Husbands of Beth and Hugo.
46:57
But I don't even know how I fit in with that.
46:59
I just think it is eerily strange how similar Evelyn Hugo
47:04
that book is to Taylor Swift's music.
47:06
The big theme of this play of Macbeth is fate versus choice,
47:11
prophecy, right? And ambiguous morality.
47:16
And this ambition, this almost toxic ambition to get to the
47:21
top, to get where you want to be and it biting you in the ass.
47:25
She doesn't care who she hurts on the way.
47:27
John Green says when Macbeth murders, it is a quote, a murder
47:31
that Macbeth both desires and is horrified by.
47:34
She is horrified by the fact that she's sacrificing her
47:38
morals and her values by rising to the top, but her ambition
47:43
wants it so bad. She wants to be the king in the
47:47
castle and she goes to the top and I would argue she's already
47:50
there. Is she going to bring her
47:51
friends to the summit? Is this going to be like a mass
47:53
coming out situation? So to summarize the Shakespeare
47:57
connections, one of these plays is about vengeance and the other
48:01
is about ambition, pretty relevant to Taylor Swift.
48:05
The main theme that both of these have is this confliction,
48:10
this conflict, internal turmoil over choice.
48:15
It just feels so striking to Taylor Swift.
48:17
I don't know. Let me know what you guys think.
48:19
I've just been having like, such a time researching this and like
48:22
digging into Shakespeare and like getting back into these
48:26
plays that I haven't read in so long.
48:28
Thank you Taylor Swift, all of this is just so interesting and
48:32
fun and exciting. So let me know what you guys
48:36
pick up on and I hope you guys really enjoyed this deep dive.
48:39
And if you want more content before the next episode, go to
48:42
my Patreon. I'm going to have two new bonus
48:44
episodes there and one of them will be my real true harsh
48:48
thoughts that I would say to my girlfriend just please don't
48:51
like record it and post it because I don't want to be
48:54
bullied by hedlers. Anyways, I hope you have a great
48:56
week. OK love you guys see you so
48:58
soon. Thank God we have some more
49:00
content to distract us from the world we're living in.
49:04
See you soon.