JC
- MUSIC FOCUS: Taylor Swift.
- ACTIVITY FOCUS: Explode the quotes from ‘folklore’!
ACTIVITY 1
How does Taylor Swift use ‘folklore’ to explore the position of women?
‘Explode’ each of the ‘folklore’ quotes. Make notes as to what point Swift is making about a woman’s situation in each quote. Think about how the men and women act/feel – and what techniques Swift uses to emphasise the points she’s making.
“But we were something, don’t you think so? / Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool / And if my wishes came true / It would’ve been you.”
“To kiss in cars and downtown bars / Was all we needed”
“Who knows if she never showed up, what could’ve been / the maddest woman this town has ever seen”
“You’re not my homeland anymore / So what am I defending now?” & “You were my crown” & “I gave so many signs.”
“Weepin’ in a sunlit room… Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe
All the hell you gave me?”
“I’m a mirrorball / I’ll show you every version of yourself tonight”
“Please picture me, in the trees, I hit my peak at seven…” & “Over the creek… too scared to jump in… I was high in the sky.”
“livin’ for the hope of it all”
“They told me all of my cages were mental”
“Don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby… Look at this idiotic fool that you made me… You taught me a secret language, I can’t speak with anyone else… And you know damn well, for you I would ruin myself, a million little times”
“Time, mystical time / Cuttin’ me open, then healin’ me fine / were there clues I didn’t see… isn’t it so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?” & “the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart.”
“you’ll poke that bear ’til her claws come out”
“some things you just can’t speak about.”
“Your favorite song was playing / From the far side of the gym / I was nowhere to be found… if I just showed up at your party, would you… lead me to the garden?… I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything”
“I’d swing with you for the fences / Sit with you in the trenches / Give you my wild, give you a child”
“sleight of hand”
“Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die… I don’t belong”
Once you’re done, you can send your work in. We want to publish the most exciting writing and offer advice.
And, then, read the essay our students wrote during the live lesson.
Then have a go at another Taylor lesson!