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Our review of Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ will serve as the launchpad for your own successful piece of persuasive writing.

  • MUSIC FOCUS: Taylor Swift.
  • ACTIVITY FOCUS: Explore the use of similes and metaphors in the review of Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’. Then have a go at employing those same techniques in a review of an album YOU love.

Taylor Swift: Lover (Republic Records)

‘Lover’ is a record you absolutely need to hear. ‘I Forgot That You Existed’ might be the best opening song to an album EVER. It’s zippy enough to ignite you on even the most nightmare-ish of days.

Really, it’s true. Taylor Swift makes the BEST music to listen to when you feel like you’re lost in some kind of hell. Her songs are like DREAMS. There isn’t an artist in the world who so absolutely blurs the line between music and magic. If any record’s going to save us from drowning in the sewage of our own misery, it’s this one.

Second track, ‘Cruel Summer’, actually sounds like summer. It’s true. It’s like Taylor Swift went out on the softest, warmest July evening and somehow bottled the feeling of it – the chorus flares like a last flash of afternoon sun and you’ll want to dive right into it.

As much as anything, Taylor Swift’s seventh record acts as a transporter machine, zooming you directly into her own life. Wherever she is. Wherever she wants to be. Take the title track. It whooshes you to Taylor’s home, just after Christmas. She paints the picture so clearly. But then she puts her foot on the accelerator. ‘The Man’ is quicker, harder, angrier and it won’t be long before you feel yourself becoming those things too. All the men in the world saying “Do this” or “Do that” or “Be this” or “Be that”. Tsk.

Not that our favourite pop star is doing anything other than what she and her fans what. And so we get the most ‘Taylor Swift’ song on the record: Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince’. Homecoming queens? Check. Prom dresses? Check. Pageant smiles? Check. And then comes ‘Paper Rings’. Try staying miserable when you’re listening to this – bet you can’t. It has the most upbeat chorus you’ve ever heard in your life.

Then there’s the enchanting ‘Cornelia Street’, the devastating ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’ and the rousingly anthemic ‘You Need To Calm Down’. And that’s not even everything. Like all the singer’s albums, ‘Lover’ is more than just a record – it’s another layer of the Taylor Swift universe. A mesmerising album from an artist with truly hypnotic powers.

Review by JC

ACTIVITY 1

How does the writer use language to describe Taylor Swift and her ‘Lover’ album?

Examine three quotes in response to the above answer. Focus on the metaphors and similes (lots of them are clearly marked out in orange). Explain in detail why the writer has chosen these specific images. Don’t just say one thing about each quote – aim to explore at least two different layers/readings of each quote.

You might find this article helpful when deciding on connectives that will ensure that your analysis ‘flows’.

ACTIVITY 2

Write a review of one of your favourite records. Focus on using a range of similes and metaphors. You can borrow one or two from the ‘Lover’ review if you feel like they reflect what you’re trying to say. The more you use the same – but brilliant – similes and metaphors in your own writing, the more easily you’ll remember them when it comes to exam time!

Do send your ideas (or questions) in. We want to publish the most exciting writing and offer advice.

Now, have a go at adding to your toolbox of creative vocabulary – lots of these words can be used effectively within a persuasive writing piece too!