It’s no secret that The Tortured Poets Department is going to be one of Taylor Swift‘s most vulnerable albums yet — the singer herself said as much at one of her Australia Eras Tour shows. But Swiftie detectives have taken things one step further, concocting a theory that each limited-edition version of the LP will represent a stage of grief.
First thing’s first: So far, the pop star has confirmed three versions of Tortured Poets. There’s “The Manuscript,” aka the original package announced by Swift at the 2024 Grammys; “The Bolter,” which she unveiled during her Feb. 16 concert in Melbourne; and “The Albatross,” which she uncovered at her Feb. 23 show in Melbourne.
Dissecting everything from the alternate covers of each version to their respective taglines, fans on social media have started to theorize that Swift will release a total of five editions of Tortured Poets — each one linking back to a different part of the well-known five stages of grief. The stages, as first described by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying, are as follows: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
With that in mind, Swifties believe that “The Manuscript” connects to the first stage, denial. The theory is supported by the version’s tagline, as seen on its back cover: “I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
Next up, “The Bolter” and its tagline — “You don’t get to tell me about sad” — may represent anger. Thirdly, “The Albatross” — which asks “Am I allowed to cry?” on the back cover — could symbolize bargaining.
“mark my words, i say it first…,” wrote one Swiftie Friday (Feb. 23). “It will be the stages of grief, and they will get darker and darker. she’s telling the whole story in the tortured poets department.”
If fans are correct, Swift has two more versions of Tortured Poets to unpack. And assuming she continues her trend of announcing them during her Eras Tour stops, the next could come during one of her shows in Singapore March 2-4 and 7-9.
Some Swifties also believe that the 14-time Grammy winner’s recent choice of surprise songs on the Eras Tour further supports the theory. “In melbourne after the bolter edition announcement, all of the songs revealed varying degrees of frustration—especially her performance of you’re losing me,” explained one fan on X.
The fan continued, “Furthermore, the frustrated getaway car/august/tosotd mashup … shows what could have resulted in the brunt of her emotional turmoil during her phase of anger.”
Keep reading to see tweets about the “stages of grief” for The Tortured Poets Department theory below.
