Lesson plan; “Taylor Swift’s Poetic Influences: A Comparative Study of Her Songs and Literary Works”

Swift-inspired classes are sweeping colleges across the country. Source: The New York Times

News of the course has prompted a chorus of complaints from critics, who cite it as further evidence that America’s most prestigious university has lost its way and that the foundations of academia, and perhaps society itself, are crumbling.

The syllabus is much like what one might expect from an undergraduate English course, with texts by William Wordsworth, Willa Cather and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. But there is one name on the list that might surprise budding scholars.

Taylor Swift.

In the spring semester, Stephanie Burt, an English professor at Harvard University, will teach a new class, “Taylor Swift and Her World.” Nearly 300 students have enrolled. The New York Times

English 183ts. Taylor Swift and Her World

The first song on Taylor Swift’s first record, released when she was 16, paid homage (by name) to a more established country artist. Today she’s the most recognizable country– or formerly country? or pop?– artist in North America, if not the world: her songwriting takes in half a dozen genres, and her economic impact changes cities. We will move through Swift’s own catalogue, including hits, deep cuts, outtakes, re-recordings, considering songwriting as its own art, distinct from poems recited or silently read. We will learn how to study fan culture, celebrity culture, adolescence, adulthood and appropriation; how to think about white texts, Southern texts, transatlantic texts, and queer subtexts. We will learn how to think about illicit affairs, and hoaxes, champagne problems and incomplete closure. We will look at her precursors, from Dolly Parton to the Border Ballads, and at work about her (such as the documentary “Miss Americana”). And we will read literary works important to her and works about song and performance, with novels, memoirs and poems by (among others) Willa Cather, James Weldon Johnson, Tracey Thorn, and William Wordsworth.

We’re going to read some Wordsworth, Wordsworth being a Lake District poet. She sings about the poets of the Lake District in England. Wordsworth also writes about some of the same feelings that Taylor sings about: disappointment in retrospect, and looking back and realizing that you’re not the child you were, even though you might want to be. Read more about this here. 

What songs are going to be paired with those texts?

We are reading Coleridge’s “Work Without Hope.” “Work Without Hope,” of course, being Coleridge’s version of “You’re on Your Own, Kid.”

Others shall love what we have loved and we will teach them how.If you’re going to teach people to love something that they see as obscure or distant or difficult or unfamiliar, your best shot at doing that honestly and effectively is to connect it to something that people already like. Quote: Stephanie Burt, an English professor at Harvard University,

Lesson plan

Compare and contrast these two. Show examples of: Tone, Structure, Themes, Imagery

Task 1: Compare the themes of the two poems.

• Both poems discuss the importance of hope and ambition.
• “You’re On Your Own, Kid” focuses on the importance of following one’s dreams, even if they seem impossible. “Work Without Hope” emphasizes the importance of having a goal or purpose in life.
• Both poems also address the challenges of pursuing one’s goals. “You’re On Your Own, Kid” describes the feeling of being alone and unsupported, while “Work Without Hope” highlights the difficulty of working without a clear goal.

Task 2: Analyze the use of imagery in the two poems.

• “You’re On Your Own, Kid” uses imagery to create a sense of longing and frustration. The speaker describes the sprinklers and fireplace ashes as reminders of past happiness, while the mention of “better bodies” suggests that the speaker feels inadequate.
• “Work Without Hope” uses imagery to emphasize the speaker’s isolation and desolation. The description of slugs, bees, and birds highlights the speaker’s lack of activity. The reference to the amaranths and nectar fountain suggests that the speaker is aware of beauty and potential, but is unable to experience them.

Task 3: Discuss the tone and mood of the two poems.

• “You’re On Your Own, Kid” has a tone of frustration and anger. The speaker feels trapped and hopeless, and is unable to achieve her dreams.
• “Work Without Hope” has a tone of resignation and despair. The speaker has given up on his dreams and sees no hope for the future.

Task 4: Identify the target audience for the two poems.

• “You’re On Your Own, Kid” is targeted at young people who are struggling to find their place in the world. The speaker’s message is one of hope and perseverance and encourages the reader to never give up on their dreams.
• “Work Without Hope” is targeted at adults who have lost sight of their goals or aspirations. The speaker’s message is one of warning and cautions the reader against giving up on hope.

Task 5: Create an original piece of writing that is inspired by one of the two poems.

• This task could involve writing a poem, short story, or song that explores the themes and ideas presented in the poem.

1. You’re On Your Own, Kid

2. “Work Without Hope” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—
The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
And I the while, the sole unbusy thing,
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.

Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,
Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.
Bloom, O ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,
For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I stroll:
And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?
Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.