James is the boy loved by the narrator in Taylor Swift’s “august” storyline.
The song forms one part of a fictional love triangle on Folklore. James is involved with an unnamed girl during the summer, but he ultimately returns to his former lover, Betty. “cardigan” tells Betty’s side, while “betty” presents James’s perspective, allowing the three songs to overlap as different views of the same teenage relationship.
The narrator of “august” is not officially given a name in the song. Swift said she privately imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine, which is why fans sometimes call the character Augustine. That imagined label should not be confused with the boy’s name: the male character is James.
Another common mix-up involves William Bowery, the pseudonym associated with Joe Alwyn. William Bowery is a production and songwriting credit connected with Folklore, not a character in this fictional romance. James is the specific answer because he is the named boy at the center of the triangle.