Well, my European Romanticism professor decided to perpetuate my bad study habits by giving me an A- on the paper I turned in last Monday, after writing it on Sunday night. He said overall it was the best group of papers he’s ever graded–no lower than a B+ from anyone in the class, so we all did awesome. Awesome, I tell you. There’s still nothing new in my paper, I don’t think, but apparently my talent for succinctly and clearly explaining things came in handy–I really think that’s where my gift is. Not in coming up with new insights or theories, but in communicating existing theories clearly to a non-specialist audience.

So, the paper is here. How did I do? The prompt was to discuss an aspect of the Romantic aesthetic as it appeared in at least three European countries (i.e., to what extent did the three chosen countries agree in their concept of the aesthetic and to what extent did they differ). I covered the idea of the sublime, using England, Germany, and France. Oh, and we had to do it all in roughly 2000 words; this runs 2100 or so.