Hesiod
8th century BC
Ancient Greek poet, one of the earliest known Western literary figures, author of the Theogony (on the origins of the gods) and Works and Days (on the five ages of humanity and practical wisdom).
Connection to Taylor Swift
Uncle Jerry connects Taylor's 'golden age' imagery to Hesiod's description of the Golden Age in the Theogony and Works and Days, reading Taylor's bridge as claiming a rare moment of harmony and flourishing for this love.
Notable Works
- Theogony, Works and Days
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Works and Days
“This is the golden age Of something good and right and real”
Uncle Jerry identifies the bridge line 'This is the golden age' as an allusion to Hesiod's account of the Golden Age in Works and Days, the first and best of the five ages of humanity, marked by peace, harmony, and flourishing without toil. He reads Taylor's line as claiming this same rare quality for the relationship: a moment of harmony and flourishing set apart from ordinary time. He connects the gold imagery to the moral language that follows ('something good and right and real'), and situates the golden age alongside the song's other classical references (Achilles' heel, the Fates) as part of a sustained classical-allusion pattern.