What to make of Taylor Swift, via her new album? Another wonderful example of a young woman controlling her own destiny, whose lyrics are often compared to poetry and are in fact studied in some American universities, continuing to inspire a generation? Or are we now being subjected to the level of writing you read on the inside back cover of a bored teenager’s homework jotter?

There is little doubt the world has been blown away by the Swift phenomenon, her business strategy (her recent Eras tour grossed $2bn) and willingness to take on Scrooge record company bosses. And who can argue with the pop star’s willingness to connect with her fans, her easy manner and her fabulous photogenicity. But has her status as the planet’s top popette gone to her head?

Now, just in case you’re ready to draft your Letter to The Editor on your iPhone’s Notes page, claiming you’ve been subjected to a dinosaur’s misogynistic scribblings, take a moment; I’m not an anti-Swiftie at all. Some of her older songs are catchy and her words occasionally quite poignant.

Take Illicit Affairs, for example, in which she wrote of the heady excitement produced by the secrecy of the........

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