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EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Swift reveals how Hamlet inspired her 'The Fate of Ophelia' lyrics
3 October 2025, 08:09 | Updated: 6 October 2025, 10:01
What are Taylor Swift's 'The Fate of Ophelia' lyrics about? Here's what she's said about how Shakespeare inspired the song.
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Swifties assemble! Taylor Swift has opened up about the romantic meaning behind her 'The Fate of Ophelia' lyrics in an exclusive interview with Capital Breakfast.
As soon as The Life of a Showgirl superstar confirmed that she was releasing a song called 'The Fate of Ophelia', fans were desperate to find out exactly what the song is about. Taylor is no stranger to being inspired by William Shakespeare ('Love Story', anyone?) and Ophelia, in case you didn't know, is the tragic love interest in Hamlet.
Now, Taylor has confirmed exactly how Hamlet inspired the song and explained how the lyrics directly reference one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
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Watch Taylor Swift's interview on Capital Breakfast in full on Global Player now.
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Speaking to Capital Breakfast's Jordan North and Sian Welby about the song, Taylor said: "It's all kind of a play on Ophelia from Hamlet who was driven mad by love. Because of that, she ends up drowning.
"The play on it is like, 'You saved me from that fate.' Right? You rescued me. Like meeting someone and finding someone who took you away from that way that your life could have gone."
Pretty romantic, right? Just like 'Love Story', Taylor is taking a Shakespearean tragedy and giving it her own Swiftian spin. While Taylor didn't directly say who that person is, it's pretty clear that it's about her fiancé Travis Kelce.
Discussing the song further, Taylor added: "So it's all very dramatic, obviously, cause it's me. Sometimes with songwriting, I'll use specific language based on either the story I'm telling, the characters I'm singing about or the kind of the subject matter at hand."
She continued: "When you're dealing with Shakespeare, it's kind of fun to say things like, 'I might have lingered in purgatory'. Or using kind of like 'You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine'.
"But then mixing the language with kind of more modern vernacular. Like, you know, like 'Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes'. Like that's much more like modern day."
"And then the bridge is me kind of like riffing off of like different lines from Hamlet," she added.
Elsewhere, Taylor discussed how incredible it was to finally hear 'The Fate of Ophelia' on the radio. She told Jordan and Sian: "I'm big on secrecy. I'm big on surprising the fans and rolling it out in a specific way. So it's weird to be making an album you're so proud of, you're so obsessed with it, but you can't talk about it to really anybody."
She continued: "And it's this little secret you have and then all of a sudden it's out in the world and you guys are playing it for the entirety of the UK. I'm so excited."
Watch Taylor Swift's interview on Capital Breakfast in full on Global Player now.
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