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The Swiftie and The Scholar

A weekly podcast exploring the lyrics, lore, and literary legacy of Taylor Swift. Hosted by Angela McDow, the Swiftie, and Dr. Jerry Coats, the Scholar, we read between the lines AND the liner notes. Join us each week for lyrical deep dive through Taylor Swift’s eras.

Latest Episodes:

The Fairytale Diction of Enchanted Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

We are finally covering a song from Speak Now! I’m so sorry to all the Speak Now stans that it took this long, but we got here. Uncle Jerry takes us through Taylor’s word choice throughout Enchanted, and how it reveals the specific fairy tale inspiration behind the song. Angela explains the lore of this being Taylor’s only completely self-written album and the moment that inspired the song.

Works Cited:

Trochee / Trochaic Meter

Smiling Faces Sometimes – The Undisputed Truth

We Wear the Mask – Paul Laurence Dunbar

Mending Wall – Robert Frost

Indirect Discourse

Some Enchanted Evening – South Pacific

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The Gothic Tradition of The Black Dog Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we dig into one of most requested songs of late, The Black Dog. Taylor Swift mentioned in an interview that no one really understood this song, so we got Uncle Jerry on the case. Tune in to hear his take!

Works Cited:

Roland Barthes – The Death of The Author

She Walks in Beauty – Lord Byron

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Aff Link

The Malleus Maleficarum – Heinrich Kramer, James Sprenger – Aff Link

For The Love of London Pubs – Doug Harper, Vic Norman, Andie Lafrentz – Aff Link

The Pub: A Cultural Institution – Pete Brown – Aff Link

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck – Aff Link

To a Mouse – Robert Burns

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The Loss of Youth and Innocence in Peter Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Well friends, I think we did it. Stay all the way to the end for a big surprise out of Uncle Jerry.

In this episode, we're covering one of Angela's favorite TTPD tracks, Peter. Uncle Jerry finds layer after layer in the poem, and decides that this is a beautiful, melancholic reflection on the loss of innocence and youth, told through the lens of Peter Pan.

Works Cited:

Peter Pan - the Original 1911 Classic – J.M. Barrie – Aff Link

Illustrated Peter Pan: Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens – J.M. Barrie – Aff Link

The Dead Poets Society (1989)

I'm sorry for the Dead—Today – Emily Dickinson

This Is Just To Say – William Carlos Williams

In Just – Spring – e.e. cummings

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening – Robert Frost

Love's Labor's Lost – William Shakespeare

Peter Surprise Song

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The Traditional Tropes of Love Story Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

We’re taking it back to high school this week and exploring the country phenomenon that is Love Story. This is our first track from Fearless (2008), and Uncle Jerry explores all of the themes and tropes that are missing from the poem when compared to her current work, like complex metaphors and twisted idioms.

Works Cited:

Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare – Affiliate Link

Catullus – Roman Poet

Let Us Live and Love (5) – Catullus

The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne – Aff Link

Doctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak – Aff Link

Deconstructionism

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The Cinematic Imagery of Father Figure Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Step into our office and leave it with us. We protect the family! Join us as we walk through Father Figure from The Life of a Showgirl. Uncle Jerry gives his theories on the inspiration for the song, including many different movies, and Angela works out where she thinks the narrator changes mid-track.

Pour yourself some brown liquor and you won’t be sleeping with the fishes.

Works Cited:

A Star is Born – All Versions Ranked

All About Eve (1950)

Goodfellas (1990)

The Godfather (1972)

The Freshman (1990)

Ragged Dick: The 1868 Classic Rags to Riches Tale – Horatio Alger – Affiliate Link

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The Reinterpretation of The Fate of Ophelia Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

We have officially entered our Showgirl era, and we’re kicking it off with The Fate of Ophelia. Uncle Jerry teaches us all about Ophelia’s role in Hamlet, one of the Ophelia paintings Taylor may have drawn inspiration from, and a couple of feminist critics’ takes on Ophelia.

We then get into the song, Angela weaves in a few nuggets of Tay-lore, and they round it out by discussing the feminist issues with the track, watching the music video and listening to the voice memo of the writing of the song.

Works Cited:

Hamlet – William Shakespeare – Affiliate Link

What are Foil Characters?

Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism – Elaine Showalter

Hearing Ophelia: Gender and Tragic Discourse in "Hamlet" – Sandra K. Fischer

Desolation Row – Bob Dylan

The Story of Ophelia – The Tate

Pre-Raphaelite Women – Jan Marsh

Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Ash Russell

The Essential Pre-Raphaelites – Lucinda Hawksley – Aff Link

The Language of Flowers – Margaret Pickston – Aff Link

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady – Edith Holden – Aff Link

The King’s Two Bodies – Ernst Kantorowicz – Aff Link

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The Sensory Imagery of Maroon Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

We are wiping the incense dust off the shelf and picking ourselves up off the floor with Maroon this week. This Midnights track from 2022 is full of imagery, senses, colors, and so much more. Uncle Jerry also surprises us all with an interpretation from left field, which allows Angela the space to explain a specific sect of swifties.

Enjoy!

Works Cited:

Richard Wright – Black American novelist

Parallelism in Literature

Robert Frost – The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost – Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Lawrence Ferlinghetti – American Beat poet

Gregory Corso – American Beat poet

Jack Kerouac – American Beat poet

On The Road – Jack Kerouac

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The Growth and Healing of Clean Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

We’re coming down from our Showgirl high, and taking it back to 1989 this week. Uncle Jerry takes us through Clean, and breaks down the metaphors and themes found in the poem, including addiction, healing, personal growth, and personal agency.

He also asks Angela who this song was inspired by, and admits that he’s now wondering about that in all of these songs. :)

There are links below to (most of!) the recommended literature from the episode. Some links are affiliate links, which means if you click and purchase, we will make a small commission at no cost to you.

Works Cited:

Metaphors We Live By – George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

The Great War and Modern Memory – Paul Fussell

Not Waving but Drowning – Stevie Smith

Afterwards – Sara Teasdale

After Love – Sara Teasdale

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BONUS: The Release Party of A Showgirl Recap Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

The Swiftie and The Scholar took a field trip to the movie theater this weekend to hang out with Taylor and the Swifties! This was Uncle Jerry's first in-person swiftie experience, and he gives us his thoughts, along with his first impressions of a few of the new tracks.

Angela gives her first impressions on the album and discusses which songs the podcast will cover first.

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Answering Your Questions - Volume 1 Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Uncle Jerry and Angela get caught up on the latest Swiftie news, including the engagement and The Release Party of a Showgirl, and then they get into answering your questions from Instagram and TikTok. We cover poetry curriculum, how to get into scholarly pursuits, how Angela convinced Uncle Jerry to do the podcast, and how we select which songs we cover.

There are links below to (most of!) the recommended literature from the episode. Some links are affiliate links, which means if you click and purchase, we will make a small commission at no cost to you.

Works Cited:

i carry your heart with me – e.e. cummings

Epithalamion – Edmund Spenser

The Hornblower Series – C.S. Forester

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Book 1) – C.S. Forester

African Queen – C.S. Forester

The Good Shepherd – C.S. Forester

2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke

Stranger in a Strange Land Paperback – Robert A. Heinlein

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Oxford Book of Modern Verse – W.B. Yeats

The Oxford Book of English Verse – Christopher Ricks

The Norton Anthology of American Literature – Robert S. Levine

E. E. Cummings: Complete Poems, 1904–1962

The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens: The Corrected Edition

Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman

Metaphors We Live By – George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair – Pablo Neruda

The Poet and His Book: The Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton

The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry Paperback – Rita Dove

American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, Volume 1: Henry Adams to Dorothy Parker – Robert Hass

The Oxford Book of American Short Stories – Joyce Carol Oates

A Cool Million Paperback – Nathanael West

Lucky Jim Paperback – Kingsley Amis

Cold Comfort Farm Paperback – Stella Gibbons

Bleak House – Charles Dickens

The Old Curiosity Shop – Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby – Charles Dickens

Our Mutual Friend – Charles Dickens

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