“TAYLOR SWIFT: The Fate of Ophelia” - Song Analysis

Kira Zahara Ahsan

Oct 29, 2025

(An Ode to my wonderful husband, a farewell to modern dating chaos)

“TAYLOR SWIFT: The Fate of Ophelia” - Song Analysis

When I met my husband, I was 42 and completely numb to the hellscape of the modern dating world. I had given up on the possibility of any man truly making me a priority in his life. I simply retreated from the emotionally draining battlefield of modern dating after decades of failure and disappointment. 20+ years of “trying” resulted in various lengths of relationships with diverse characters.

There were great experiences that just ended due to extraneous circumstances or timing, some that were meant to be lessons learned about ignoring signs of incompatibility, and plenty of adventures that kind of fell in between the two extremes. I found myself at 40 still seeking that elusive dream of meeting someone with whom I’d actually want to spend the rest of my life - who actually shared that sentiment with me. I hadn’t been married previously and wasn’t interested in having children for a myriad of reasons.

There were the highly compatible friendships that I wished could have been life partnerships but lacked either mutual attraction, had conflicting goals about commitment, or both. There were the promising starts trounced by the “gender equality” principles that I felt were becoming the bane of my existence after I’d bowed out of my full-time career for the sake of my own physical and mental health. I had no intention of returning to work despite having 2 Master’s Degrees, but I learned the hard way that most American men not only don’t want to take responsibility for supporting a wife, but they also aggressively covet a second income-earner to help out with their expenses.

I thought that being fit and kind and intelligent and having no children meant that I’d have my pick of suitors as I entered my 30s. The failed first marriages of my generational cohorts were running their courses, and I was hopeful. I knew I’d be a great partner for a guy who already had a child (or children), because I don’t have nor want any of my own but always got along well with kids who are past the toddler stages. I was ready and willing to be “Super Stepmom.”

I couldn’t have been more wrong about how “easy” things would be, as I’d kept telling myself in my 20s that I just needed to get to my 30s. Somehow, I was only meeting guys who wanted more children or were desperately wanting children of their own despite being still childless at close to age 50. I hesitate to look back on specific situations and details because it was just awful and deflating – the proliferation of the apps, the constant disillusionment, the time and energy that I wasted...The ultimate agony was finding myself in a pattern of ending up with guys who never made the first move to spend time with me and were in no hurry to acknowledge a relationship publicly after months or years.

I was simply done with the chase and wanted to be CALLED UPON, COURTED, PRIORITIZED, TREASURED. When I decided that I wouldn’t be dating anymore and would hold out for a guy who truly celebrated me and made me a priority without having to be reminded to do so, my husband came into my life a few months later. Though it was romantically lonesome “retreating to my tower,” to use a line from “The Fate of Ophelia” song by Taylor Swift, my mood had lifted from the simple act of surrendering to a perpetually single life. I was relieved and empowered and felt closer to God than I ever had.

Shameem Mallick Ahsan, my husband who I have no question is a gift from Allah, came “calling on a megaphone.” He wanted me and the world to know that I was his priority now. I don’t think I would have “drowned in the melancholy,” but Shameem did save my heart from the “fate of Ophelia.” He most definitely “keeps it 100” in every area of life. I “pledge allegiance to his hands, his vibes,” and everything else about him.

Every lyric of this song hits your gut and your heart once you’ve met YOUR PERSON after a lifelong struggle. “The Fate of Ophelia” is a call to a classic Shakespearean tale with a modern lyrical twist incorporating modern and trendy expressions like “keeping it 100” and “vibes.”

Meeting my husband also took my spiritual growth to the next level, and I converted to Islam a about a year into our marriage. The full set of lyrics to “The Fate of Ophelia” can be found below, but I will end this essay with my favorite lines that summarize my current era and feelings for Shameem the best:

“If you’d never called for me, I might’ve lingered in purgatory…I’m no longer drowning and deceived, all because you came for me…don’t care where the heck (clean edit word) you’ve been, because now you’re mine.”

Here are the full lyric and a link to source website AZ Lyrics:

Taylor Swift - The Fate Of Ophelia Lyrics

I heard you calling on the megaphone

You wanna see me all alone

As legend has it, you

Are quite the pyro

You light the match to watch it blow

And if you’d never come for me

I might’ve drowned in the melancholy

I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I (Me, myself, I)

Right before you lit my sky up

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all (See it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia (Ophelia)

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky (Land, sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands

Your team, your vibes

Don’t care where the hell you been (Been)

‘Cause now, you’re mine (Now)

It’s ‘bout to be the sleepless night

You’ve been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

The eldest daughter of a nobleman

Ophelia lived in fantasy

But love was a cold bed full of scorpions

The venom stole her sanity

And if you’d never come for me (Come for me)

I might’ve lingered in purgatory

You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine (Chain, crown, vine)

Pulling me into the fire

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all (See it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia (Ophelia)

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky (Land, sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands

Your team, your vibes

Don’t care where the hell you been (Been)

‘Cause now, you’re mine (Now)

It’s ‘bout to be the sleepless night

You’ve been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

‘Tis locked inside my memory

And only you possess the key

No longer drowning and deceived

All because you came for me

Locked inside my memory

And only you possess the key

No longer drowning and deceived

All because you came for me

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all (I can see it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky (Land, the sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands (Your hands)

Your team, your vibes

Don’t care where the hell you been (Been)

‘Cause now, you’re mine (’Cause now)

It’s ‘bout to be the sleepless night

You’ve been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

You saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia