I am unashamedly and wholeheartedly a Taylor Swift fanatic, and one day I hope to marry her. That being said, one of Taylor Swift's classic ballads tells the age-old story of Romeo and Juliet in a recasting of myth that is similar to that of Lewis' Till We Have Faces. Although Shakespeare is not Mythology, and is drama, the classic tale of "star cross'd lovers" has all but become a myth in the literature and narrative of today. It is a classic tale of the tragic romance.
My future wife essentially takes details that are not present in Shakespeare's play and writes in between-the-lines of the story, in the same style as Jewish midrash. She, in her beautiful and brilliant songwriting style, states that "I was standing on a balcony in summer air," adding a setting to the romance. The Romeo character in the song also receives a warning from the Capulet father "to stay away from Juliet." These are details which are added to deepen the story and place the audience right within the action of this love story.
Taylor also recasts the tragic romance into a comic romance, where the main characters are successful in their romance. This is also is a quality of Till We Have Faces, as Lewis rewrites the original story of Psyche in his book. Taylor implies that Romeo has talked to her father, that he has consented. A ring is presented, a white dress chosen, and a happily-ever-after initiated. The story is recast into a manner which Taylor prefers, and gives a happy ending to a story that had the worst ending ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment