In Taylor Swift’s Folklore story, the teenage boy desired by the narrator of “august” is James.
James is one point of the album’s fictional love triangle. He is connected to Betty, the character associated with “cardigan,” and to the unnamed girl whose perspective appears in “august.” The narrator remembers a temporary summer relationship with James while recognizing that he is emotionally tied to someone else.
The character’s name is made explicit through the connected song “betty,” which is written from James’s viewpoint. That song helps identify how the three tracks fit together and clarifies that “august” is not simply a standalone autobiographical diary entry.
A frequent error is treating “August” as the narrator’s personal name. Swift has referred to the character as Augustine in explanations of the album’s fictional world, but the song itself is commonly described as being from the perspective of the unnamed “August” girl. James is the boy at the center of her longing.