Emily Dickinson's famous poems explored after Ancestry reveals the poet was Taylor Swift's ancestor

Taylor Swift’s new album’s title, The Tortured Poets Department, turned out to be more apt than ever after it was revealed that the singer is related to a very famous poet: Emily Dickinson herself.

In an Instagram post, the genealogy platform Ancestry announced the huge news. They said,

“We need to calm down…but how can we when we have BIG news! Renowned American poets Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson are 6th cousins, three times removed. ✍️”

According to the website, which locates ancestors based on DNA, Dickinson and Swift are both descendants of a 17th-century English immigrant: Taylor Swift’s 9th great-grandfather and Dickinson’s 6th great-grandfather, who was an early settler of Windsor, Connecticut.

Here is a look at Emily Dickinson’s life and poems, which incidentally have been referenced by Taylor Swift numerous times:

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Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift's connection goes beyond just ancestry

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American poet known for her contemplative lyricism and unique literary style. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and spent most of her life in isolation. Yet her poetry, like that of her descendant, Taylor Swift, has a deep resonance with readers worldwide.

Throughout her prolific career, Dickinson wrote on a variety of topics, including love, nature, faith, and death. Dickinson's best poem is "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," in which she personifies death as a gentlemanly carriage driver who kindly escorts the speaker to the beyond. This moving meditation on mortality exemplifies Dickinson's preoccupation with the secrets of life and thereafter.

Some of her other renowned works include "I heard a Fly buzz – when I died," which is a haunting exploration of death and the afterlife; "Hope is the thing with feathers," which captures the resilience of hope amidst adversity; and "Wild Nights – Wild Nights!" - a passionate reflection on desire and longing.

Dickinson's poems frequently broke traditional poetic rules, including unconventional punctuation and capitalization. Her precision, brevity, and relatability enabled her to express complicated emotions and profound ideas with extraordinary clarity. It appears that lyrical genius and the ability to communicate with the most with brevity and precision run in the family, even across centuries.

It appears that Taylor Swift has known about this connection for a while, given the number of times she has referred to the poet and her works. Swifties, too, with their impeccable detective skills, had spotted many Easter eggs and coincidences.

In 2022, while accepting the songwriter-artist of the decade award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International, Swift mentioned Dickinson in her speech. She had said,

“If my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great-grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the Quill genre.”

Moreover, Swift’s album Evermore was both announced and released on December 10, 2020, which happens to be Emily Dickinson's birthday.

Many Swifties have also speculated that the entire album is inspired by the 19th-century poem and that the song Ivy is actually about Dickinson’s alleged relationship with her sister-in-law Sue Huntington.

Evermore’s title also refers to the last word of one of Dickinson's poems, "One Sister Have I in Our House."

The line reads,

"From out the wide night's numbers— / Sue - forevermore!"

Incidentally, Emily Dickinson's life was adapted into a comedy-drama series for Apple TV+. Starring Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson, the series ran for 3 seasons. The song Ivy had featured in a pivotal moment of the show, much to the pleasure of all Swifties watching.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift first announced The Tortured Poets Department during her acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys last month, when she won Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.