By Laura Martens
Many fans believe Taylor Swift’s song lyrics are so beautiful that they could be considered poetry. But, could her writing be any match for that of one of the most beloved writers of all time? A form was sent out to all Central DeWitt High School students and staff asking if they could tell the difference between a Taylor Swift lyric and a Shakespearean quote.
After over 100 responses, the average score was 9.02/16 with the highest scores being 16/16 and the lowest scores being 3/16.
In order to get an idea of the different demographics of people who filled out the form, interviews were conducted with the highest and lowest scorers.
Highest: Niya Miller (Sophomore), Jack Gravert (Freshman), and Mrs. Flathers (10th Grade Language Arts Teacher)
Question: What do you think led to you getting a perfect score?
Niya: “I love her, that’s probably why. I don’t care about Shakespeare, but like, I listen to a lot of Taylor Swift so like it evens out, you know?”
Jack: “My knowledge on Taylor Swift songs.”
Mrs. Flathers: “I would say the years I’ve had to study Shakespeare and the years I’ve taught Shakespeare.”
Question: Were you confident going into the quiz?
Niya: “Very.”
Jack: “I was pretty confident. I was nervous that I was gonna mess a couple up but that’s really it.”
Mrs. Flathers: “Ninety percent.”
Question: Did any of the questions stump you at all?
Niya: “Not that I can remember.”
Jack: “There was a couple ones that I was like ‘I’m gonna guess on this one’ and if I get it right, I get it right.”
Mrs. Flathers: “There might have been a couple I had to look at a little bit longer.”
Lowest: Dolan Theisen (Junior) and Connor Viel (Sophomore)
Question: You were one of the lowest scores on the Taylor Swift or Shakespeare quiz, how do you feel about that?”
Dolan: “I feel like I tried my best and that’s all you can do.”
Connor: “Uh, fine. I didn’t really try on the quiz.”
Question: Of the ones you did get right, did you know them or were they just guesses?”
Dolan: “I absolutely knew none of them.”
Connor: “Guesses.”
Question: When you went into it, did you expect to do better than you did?
Dolan: “Uh, no. I did it in about two minutes. I mean, I just read through them and I was like ‘Does that sound like Shakespeare? Yes.’ and it wasn’t.”
Connor: “No.”
Based on the results from the form, it seems like most people struggle to tell the difference between Taylor Swift and Shakespeare. But, could that mean that her writing is just as genius as his? That is the question…