.png)
LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller
Class is in session!
After 16 years of teaching literature and writing, I’m bringing that same analytical energy to this controversial album. Think of this as AP Lit: Taylor Swift edition.
We’ll unpack TLOAS like a novel—tracing literary techniques, Shakespearean allusions, character arcs, and emotional architecture.
It’s like your favorite college English class, minus the assignments and grades. If you love peeling back layers of meaning and finding hidden connections (while enjoying some seriously fun music), this is for you!
Episodes
20 episodes
19: Finale — TLOAS is a culmination, not a contradiction (with Kelley Erickson)
For our last episode, I sit down with functional mental health practitioner Kelley Erickson to explore The Life of a Showgirl through the lens of emotional integration, identity, and resistance.We unpack why this album feels so ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
1:27:02
.png)
18: The Crowd Is King — what the prologue poems reveal about the life of a showgirl
In this episode, we uncover the secrets hidden in the six poems that fans are calling a prologue for the album. From the meticulous preparatory rituals to the unspoken rules that keep a showgirl sane under the gaze of adoring—and so...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
50:49
17: Punk Scholar Meets Showgirl (with Micah Vandegrift)
For our second bonus episode and our first interview, I’m joined by musician and scholar Micah Vandegrift.Micah and I met in graduate school when we both studying American culture at FSU. He specialized in music culture, specifically loc...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
1:07:07
16: From Shakespeare to Swift: Can Popular Art Be Great Art?
In this first bonus episode, we step beyond the showgirl’s story to explore the bigger picture of Taylor's reception as an artist. I’m sharing an essay I wrote that’s been getting a lot of attention on Substack about why some art—li...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
21:55
15: “The Life of a Showgirl” — is this a comedy or a tragedy?
This final track takes us back to our showgirl’s beginnings when her idol warned her of the harsh reality behind the shimmering facade of sequins and lace.From star-struck encounters at glittering performances to the bruises that are the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
22:41
14: “Honey” — trust, tenderness, and the golden glow of truth
In “Honey,” the showgirl steps into a life she once feared was only a mirage: a relationship so secure she can finally let her armor drop.After years of battling manipulation, half-truths, and outright deception, the showgirl delights in...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
28:04
13: "CANCELLED!" — something wicked this way comes
In "CANCELLED!", the showgirl confronts the forces that try to keep women small head on. She’s done trying to play nice. Instead, she embraces infamy and forges a sisterhood with other women who refuse to conform.This episode unveils the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
27:59
12: “Wood”— superstition, satire, and the subversive power of female desire
Perhaps the most divisive song on the album, “Wood” might sound like little more than raunchy puns about how much Taylor loves her fiancé’s… assets. But beneath the playful surface lies a daring critique of patriarchy, double standards, and the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
29:21
11: “Wi$h Li$t“ — the luxury of being left alone
No, Taylor hasn’t gone tradwife.In this episode, we look at “Wi$h Li$t“ not as a love letter to domesticity, but as the showgirl’s fantasy of escape, her quiet breaking point in Act II.We’ll unpack the ironic dollar signs, the lis...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
23:56
10: “Actually Romantic” — above the fray or becoming the enemy?
Our unreliable narrator is back!In this lesson, we dive into “Actually Romantic,” the album’s grunge-pop, razor-edged exploration of envy, fixation, and the fine line between love and hate. We’ll unpack the layers of verbal a...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
15:45
9: “Ruin the Friendship” — the price of playing it safe
“Ruin the Friendship” expands on the vulnerability we saw in “Eldest Daughter” and reveals the showgirl at her most human.In this episode, we unpack the song’s quiet heartbreak and the recurring tension between the “good girl” who plays ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
18:41
8: "Eldest Daughter" — the showgirl takes off her makeup
What is this confessional ballad doing in the middle of an album about the glamour of the showgirl life? In this episode, we explore the surprising intimacy and aching vulnerability of “Eldest Daughter.” Our heroine—fresh from the r...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
17:57
7: "Father Figure" — professional slavery and the cost of success
In this episode, we dive into “Father Figure” — a song that dramatizes the complex dynamics between a young, vulnerable artist and the powerful adults who offer guidance and protection. We also explore why she credited George Michael and her ow...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
31:57
6: “Opalite” — all that glitters is not . . . opal?
On the surface, “Opalite” sparkles — a feel-good, danceable love song about moving on and finding happiness. But when you look closer, both musically and lyrically, the shimmer seems to be only skin deep. The happiness she’s portraying is n...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
19:30
5: "Elizabeth Taylor" — fame's fickle feast
In Track 2, our showgirl finds herself living the life of her dreams yet consumed with aching loneliness and haunting anxiety. Will any of this last? Is it possible to find enduring love in this life she’s chosen?With no one ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 5
•
24:47
4: "The Fate of Ophelia" Music Video — a visual key to the album
Beneath the shimmer of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video lies an argument disguised as art—a visual essay on fame, femininity, and façade. Through paintings, plays, and showgirls past, Taylor Swift makes it clear the song—and the al...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
21:13
3: "The Fate of Ophelia"— love story or origin story?
In this episode, we dive into “The Fate of Ophelia” — dramatic chapter one of Taylor Swift’s concept album.At first listen, it might sound like a classic love story — a damsel saved by her hero. But if you read this song as part one of t...
•
28:13
2: The Secret of the Unreliable Narrator
Most people assume every lyric in The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift speaking directly, giving her perspective—but what if they're not?Understanding the secret of the unreliable narrator changes everything about how we read ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 2
•
10:40
1: What is a concept album, and why does that matter?
This isn’t just an album. It’s a novel in songs—what’s known as a concept album, carefully designed to tell cohesive story from the first track to the last. Taylor practically confirmed it herself when she said the order of the songs is crucial...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 1
•
12:29
.png)