‘All the stars aligned’
Creative metaphors of love in Taylor Swift’s and Lana Del Rey’s lyrics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22334030 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gabija Daniusevičiūtė (0009-0001-7141-6594, Vilnius University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Pages | 16-31 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Taikomoji kalbotyra (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2029-8935 • E-ISSN: 2029-8935 |
| Publisher | Vilnius University Press (PUBLISHER • LT) |
| DOI | 10.15388/taikalbot.2026.23.2 |
| OpenAlex | W7160126291 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
Metaphors are known to express people’s feelings, especially complex ones, and they shape our understanding of the world (Lakoff & Johnson 1980; Kövecses 2010). Songs that can be analysed like poetry (Randel 2014; Abrams 2012) regard one of the most complicated human feelings (Maestre 2015; Lomas 2018). The study analyses love-related metaphors in Swift’s and Del Rey’s lyrics, considering creative metaphors and the prevailing metaphorical scenarios. The results reveal that the conceptualisation of love differs across both artists. Metaphorical scenarios prevail in Swift’s lyrics and are less frequent in Del Rey’s. When constructing scenarios, Del Rey employs one-shot creative metaphors, and Swift uses a balanced mix. While the relationship itself is mostly understood as a game, the process of the relationship is conceptualised as a vehicle that takes the passengers/lovers from point A to point B, and the end of the relationship is conceptualised as death, which hints at emotional turmoil
Feeling · Literal and figurative language · Lyrics · Metaphor · Metonymy · Poetry · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Media Influence and Health · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |