Taylor Swift just released her most anticipated album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. Swifties have already started dissecting the songs and lyrics, trying to find the hidden meaning of the songs, as they always do with all her projects. Recently, Swift explained on Heart Radio that the song, “The Fate of Ophelia,” has a deeper meaning and inspiration.
‘The Fate of Ophelia’ was the last track made for the album
Swift told the Heart Radio hosts, Emma Bunton and Jamie Theakston, that the lyrics of the song, The Fate of Ophelia, have a darker meaning. She stated that even though the song is quite upbeat, it has a darker inspiration. This is because the lyrics reference Ophelia from Shakespeare’s famous work “Hamlet”.
The host jokingly mentioned that “the noise is Swifties googling Hamlet, desperately trying to find out.” Swift replies, “You know what, we’ve got to get the kids reading!”
Theakston further added, “I seem to remember, though, she went mad and then died?”
The pop singer then explained that the character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet was “driven mad by love.” Swift further added that the play is on that mad love, and “the hook is that someone comes into your life and rescues you from the fate of being driven mad by love.”
The line in the song, “no longer drowning,” had a major impact on Swift’s fans, and they have been sharing the lyrics online, giving their own thoughts about the song.
It’s clear that the “Love Story” singer is deeply inspired by Shakespeare’s characters, having expressed this herself. She said, “I just have this fixation on Shakespeare characters that I fall in love with and I can’t stand to see them meet a tragic demise.”
As of now, Swifties are enjoying her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, while Swift is making the rounds on UK radio discussing her album.
Originally reported by Chhavi Puri on Reality Tea.
