Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis

Taylor Swift uses many rhetorical devices in her song Shake it Off to form a satirical tone. She uses humor and sarcasm about her own personal experiences, repetition, and onomatopoeia throughout her song.

Taylor Swift uses humor and sarcasm throughout her song to create a satirical tone. For example, in the beginning of the song she sings, “I go on too many dates [chuckle] but I can’t make them stay.” The chuckle indicates that she is laughing at what other people say about her and she does not let it get to her. She is almost making fun of herself.  From another example in the song, she sings, “I’m dancing on my own (dancing on my own) I make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go).” Knowing Taylor Swift, you know she has crazy; some may even say strange dance moves. But, she knows that and she doesn’t care. She has fun dancing! These comments are like jokes about her that she comes up with on her own. When people laugh at her, she laughs with them. This also creates a humorous effect on her fans and the listeners.

Taylor Swift also uses repetition throughout her song to have a positive effect on the readers. The song is fast and upbeat. There are many examples of repetition. To name a few, “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.” To name another, “Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake shake it off, I shake it off.” She uses repetition to drill it into her listeners’ heads that she doesn’t care what people say about her, she is just going to “shake it off”. She uses repetition to emphasize her point, which is that she does not care what people think or say about her. Words will never hurt her. She uses repetition to add power to her song and really get her point across to her “haters.”

Taylor Swift also uses the rhetorical device known as onomatopoeia. It is the use of words that are spelled how they sound. This somewhat makes the song more enjoyable and interesting. For example she sings, “mmm-mmm,” multiple times throughout the entire song.  It keeps the song going along. It somewhat makes it seem like Taylor Swift is just humming and minding her own business without a care in the world. It shows that she gives no time to those who may criticize her and she only worries about herself.

Taylor Swift uses a range of different rhetorical devices throughout her song in order to create a satirical, and humorous tone and effect on her listeners. She uses repetition to further emphasize her point that she will just shake off the hate that she receives. She uses onomatopoeia to prove her point.