Analysis

 The Blank Space dramatizes a love story of a girl who is mad with her partner. It is a story of a wealthy woman who comes across a genetic man with who she forms a successful relationship unit an incident of texting occurs. The scene shows a man texting, presumably cheating on the woman and this makes her to switch from a loving girlfriend to a stereo typical one who is crazed and obsessive(Valenti,1).   Therefore, the song represents a character vs. character conflict since the female character is pitted against the male character. The male character is presented as being the antagonist preventing the woman from her goal of having a successful relationship.

While the woman initially portrayed as being comfortable and enjoying the relationship, the man is seen texting and the audience is made to believe that the man is cheating on her.  Through this betrayal a conflict arises, which changes the drama altogether from being a successful to one experiencing infighting, destructions and finally separation. In the conflict ,  Swift is seen crying with her  mascara- streaked appearance on her face , throwing a plant at the man ,  destroys his shirts by cutting them into pieces  and trying to cut down a rather big  tree on which she had previously curved  the names (Valenti,1).  Hence, the conflict is portrayed clearly in this sense with the woman being shown as the offended party.   Throughout the drama in the song, the theme of love and betrayal is majorly presented. The woman in the song is shown to not be lacking in material wealth, so that the only thing missing in her life is love in a trustworthy relationship. In this song the reality of unrequited love forms the basis of this theme

The persona in this song is the narrator who’s also the protagonist is telling the story from the first-person point of view in the song.  The speaker is directly involved in the events of this drama and she is singing or telling the story from the “I” perspective. In fact, as the audience watches the speakers it can be noticed that she is using “I, me, us, we” which indicates that the drama is unfolding and being told from the first –person perspective. The speaker uses a subjective voice while addressing the audience, with which she uses to describe her feelings, opinions and thoughts about her past and present relationship.  This is seen when the speaker says that “I’m dying to see how this one ends” to show her feelings about the new relationship she is in presently and “New money, suit and tie, I can read you like a magazine, ain’t it funny rumors fly, and I know you heard about me…” which greatly represents her opinions about her partner in the relationship (TylorSwiftVEVO, 1).  In addition, she says that “Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane “with her subjective voice suggesting her feelings towards past lovers and how her relationship has been (TylorSwiftVEVO, 1).  

The audience of the song seems to be her present and past lovers, people with opinions about her love life and those in such a relationship. She seems to try to prove a point against people who view her as being boy crazy, and unable to be in a steady relationship.    The persona sings that she is “a nightmare dressed like a daydream” probably to  send out a message to her audience that  the kind of relationship she desires is can only be found in fantasy . The other characters are confidantes in whom the woman character confides and their presences mainly reveal the thoughts, feelings and the personality of the main character. These characters are person whose presence in the songs reveals that Swift is a wealthy woman, clingy and needy and in desperate need of love with no betrayal or cheating for that matter.  Through the characters, it is portrayed that Swift can interchange men easily whenever she is presumably cheated on.  The other characters also depict her as being crazy, desperate and representing a world where sexist caricatures, relating to women who can be acted out for the amusement of the audience which is a great ridiculous display.

The action in the song appears to occur mostly during the day with the speaker recounting the previous events or experiences with her ex-lovers during that time.  The speaker is seems to be sharing the situation in her life as is happening presently  , a case of romance where everything seems to be perfect until there is a sudden change of direction.   The passion with which the speaker is communicating appears to show that she is sharing a part of her past in the flashback and present life. The speaker also occupies a central part of the scene, so that she forms part of the unfolding drama.   The psychical setting of the drama is taking place at home, inside and outside a house.  In general, the motivation compelling the speaker to sing the song seems to her experience in love life and relationships. 

Works cited

TylorSwiftVEVO.Taylor Swift - Blank Space.2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg

Valenti, Jessica. "Taylor Swift in the Blank Space video is the woman we’ve been waiting for." The Guardian 11 (2014).