Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: A Celebration of Taylor Swift's Musical Journey, Cultural Impact, and Reinvention of Pop Music for Swifties by a Swiftie

In Heartbreak, Sheffield meticulously contextualizes Swift’s discography in the landscape of music history. Explore one of the connections between Swift and other artists mentioned throughout the book in further detail, conducting your own research and elaborating upon Sheffield’s observations.

Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song? If so, how do its lyrics and context fit into Sheffield’s broader narrative of Swift’s career and artistry? Who is the persona who speaks in the song, and how does this persona or character participate in a conversation with the speakers of other Swift songs?

At the time of publishing, the only one of Swift’s albums not given its own chapter in Heartbreak is The Tortured Poets Department, her most recent. How does Swift reinvent her image in this album, and how does Sheffield respond to this reinvention?

What does Taylor Swift’s career tell us about the differences between societal expectations for male and female pop stars? In what ways has gender bias operated to shape public perception of her, and how she presents herself?

Heartbreak has an alternate subtitle: A Celebration of Taylor Swift’s Musical Journey, Cultural Impact, and Reinvention of Pop Music for Swifties by a Swiftie. What does this alternate subtitle tell readers about Sheffield’s understanding of his own work? How do the two subtitles complement one another to explain the book’s intentions?

Taylor Swift’s career has taken place entirely in the twenty-first century, but Sheffield compares her to many music giants of the twentieth century. Consider how these different time periods have produced different kinds of music and musicians. What external forces of history have shaped Swift’s music and career?

What role does community play in music consumption and fandom? How does Sheffield convey the importance of community throughout Heartbreak?

In his Acknowledgments section, Sheffield thanks Brittany Spanos, an NYU instructor who is a leading expert on Swift. Compare Spanos’s writing and lectures about Taylor Swift with Sheffield’s. How do these two experts understand Swift similarly and differently?