Taylor Swift- Love Story Intertextuality

(In the 'Flipsnack' presenation, the quality is unreliable. Transcript for the introduction is here: The very popular play; Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare is about a tragic romance.  Two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. I feel Taylor Swift has not only used intertextuality of this in the visuals of her video by copying famous scenes such as the balcony scene, but also strongly through the use of lyrics. In red I have highlighted all the lyrics which merge in with the narrative of Romeo and Juliet, there are many undeniable connections throughout the song, beginning with the major fact that Romeo and Juliet’s names are used in the songs narrative. The love is described as difficult but real, it’s well-known that Romeo and Juliet had true love which was made difficult because their families didn’t see eye to eye and this suits the tragic love appeal which Romeo and Juliet hold. It says how Romeo was warned to stay away from Juliet by her father and this links to the real story. It also mentions more than once, how it’s young love, this is first mentioned at the beginning at the song and last mentioned at the end, this shows it’s a significant part of the narrative as it’s the first thing we’re told and the last thing we hear- it’s a well-known fact Romeo and Juliet were young lovers. It has the same sense of mystery and secrecy of Romeo and Juliet’s story as the lovers have to sneak out to the garden to meet one another. This is further reinforced by the chorus ‘Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone’. As well as these lyrical connection there are also visuals which we will go on to look at.)