Swifties Think 'The Tortured Poets Department' Album Covers Represent the Five Stages of Grief
Hello, hi, we’re here to talk about—what else?—Taylor Swift’s upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department. Specifically, a super interesting theory fans have about the black and white photography in the album's various editions. But to get us caught up real quick:
Fans Already Think the Album Title References Joe Alwyn
There's speculation that The Tortured Poets Department is a reference to Joe's group chat with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called "The Tortured Man Club."
There's Compelling Evidence That "The Bolter" and "The Albatross" Are About Him
We have breakdowns of Joe references in bonus song "The Bolter" here, and in bonus song "The Albatross" here.
And Then There's the Release Date...
Which appears to be a not-that-subtle reference to several Joe coded events.
Kay, to the theory!!! Taylor announced Tortured Poets at the Grammys and then dropped the first album cover, featuring a moody black and white photo of herself lying down:
She then revealed the The Bolter edition while playing a show in Melbourne, ft. another black and white image in a slightly different color way.
Taylor then announced The Albatross edition while performing in Sydney, featuring yet another black and white photo of herself in yet another slightly tone:
At this point, fans clocked the shifting hues and started to come up with theories — specifically that The Tortured Poets Department variant colors represent the five stages of grief:
denial
anger
bargaining
depression
acceptance
🪶| "The Tortured Poets Department" pic.twitter.com/OMgLyrw9ig
— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) February 23, 2024
the current colour palette of The Tortured Poets Department: The Five Stages Of Grief#TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/3ymuoC8HDb
— ellie 🫶🏼 (@ellie_elizabet) February 24, 2024
Taylor Swift is rumored to reveal two more alternative covers for “The Tortured Poets Department”.
The album versions are said to represent the stages of grief, with those revealed so far being related to Denial, Anger and Bargaining.
The next announcements should be related… pic.twitter.com/lUDQVsyZSn— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) February 23, 2024
mark my words, i say it first… it will be the stages of grief, and they will get darker and darker. she’s telling the whole story in the tortured poets department https://t.co/6Iic5nhwOu pic.twitter.com/kJtVGza5bc
— ami is a tortured poet (@amitoowell131) February 23, 2024
someone pointed out that the versions is resembling 5 stages of grief... https://t.co/TBXXQNzTim pic.twitter.com/ASQtRAuDdT
— derek🪶 (@everloretay13) February 16, 2024
ok the 5 stages of grief theory is making sense now... https://t.co/lXrLegrVip
— scar ✪ 🍉 | tortured poet (@lwymmd_tv) February 23, 2024
I forgot about the 5 stages theory. this makes sense there will be 5 variants even though I like that number less https://t.co/VMx8seUfpg pic.twitter.com/3mZZ6lZDfQ
— tortured poet emmy ₊˚⊹♡ (@emmyoyok) February 23, 2024
five stages of grief theory updated!
denial - the manuscript. side A of the tracklist. she's denying and justifying.
anger - the bolter. side B of the tracklist. she still justifying but realizing.
bargaining - the albatross. darker and grey. side C. she is blaming herself. pic.twitter.com/jdgczwkNZQ— ami is a tortured poet (@amitoowell131) February 23, 2024
Taylor obviously has a long and compelling history of using easter eggs, but this might be her most complex and ingenious yet. And if fans are on the right track with the whole "stages of grief" thing, we should expect Taylor to reveal two more editions with two more bonus tracks—potentially at one of her upcoming performances. Reminder: she's about to play a ton of shows in Singapore, before taking a break in April and heading to France in May. Soooo...stay tuned!
A Quick Refresher on Taylor Swift’s Complete Dating History and Exes
Does the Tom Hiddleston era really count at this point??? Help.
A Handy-Dandy Timeline of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Relationship for Ya
Alexa, play “...Ready for It?”
Just Calculated Taylor Swift’s Net Worth and Now I’m Crying
You Might Also Like
