Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department finds the singer vulnerable but vicious
Taylor Swift's decision to write a breakup album is not surprising.
Over the last ten albums, the singer has taken a knife to her personal life, filling in the details of flings, trysts, and heartbreaks to create some of pop's most unforgettable lyrics.
She has been in amorous mode for the past half-decade.
Songs like Delicate, Lover, Invisible String, and Lavender Haze were inspired by her six-year-old boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn.
Swift relocated to London and collaborated with Alwyn on her Grammy Award-winning albums Folklore and Midnights, indicating their close relationship.
Then, in April 2023, a month after Swift began her record-breaking Eras tour, it was revealed that they had divorced.
According to an anonymous source, it was "amicable" and "not dramatic".
But when the singer unveiled her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, at the Grammys in February, fans speculated that it might address the fallout.
They were eager to point out that the title was identical to a group chat held by Alwyn and his co-star Paul Mescal called The Tortured Man Club.
Then, at a Melbourne event, Swift revealed that the album was her most cathartic undertaking to date.