James is the teenage boy in the love triangle involving Taylor Swift’s “august.”
In the Folklore storyline, James is connected to Betty but becomes involved in a brief summer romance with another girl. “august” is told from that other girl’s perspective, while “betty” presents James’s point of view and “cardigan” reflects Betty’s experience.
The song itself does not make the narrator’s name central. Swift’s wider explanation of the trilogy and its characters led fans to identify the summer-romance character with the name Augustine, although “august” is primarily presented through her situation and emotions rather than a repeated character introduction.
James should not be confused with Betty or Augustine. Betty is the person James has an established relationship with, while Augustine is the girl whose temporary romance is described in “august.”