On Turning in a Paper

I am just about to do the last revision/read through of my Shakespeare midterm and I can't wait to get it out of my hands. I love that feeling of complete done-ness that goes along with turning in a particularly grueling assignment. The minute it hits the teacher's hands, there is nothing you can do but wait. No more stressing about if the wording is right or if the formatting is correct. It is completely out of your hands. I got so excited to turn in my 4,300 word essay on George Herbert that I walked into class and pulled it out of my backpack like it was a moldy banana that had been getting too ripe in there and threw it down on the teacher's desk (he wasn't there yet, but it was so satisfying). Everyone in the class at the time agreed with the sentiment expressed.

This particular midterm was painful on several levels. She handed it out about two weeks ago with the instructions to not open it until we are done studying. Once we open it, we can no longer consult other peers or the internet. We have our texts (the plays and the Bedford Companion to Shakespeare) our personal notes, and the King James version of the Bible. So we reviewed and had study sessions and then eventually we had to open it. There were 7 prompts and we had to pick 4 to write on. Just to give an example, here is one of the questions

"What is the epistemological crisis and why is it important to take into account when studying works such as Shakespeare's? In this regard, how does familiarity with Renaissance philosophy affect our understanding of Shakespeare's sonnets? [choose two sonnets to focus on] The sonnets stress beauty in relation to insight - how would you characterize the relationship between Truth and Beauty set forth in the sonnets you have chosen?" (that was one of the easier ones)

Each of my responses are about a page and a half single spaced. We shall see how it all turns out, but at least I can look forward to that sweet sense of relief as she removes this burden from my shoulders. I have had no life the past two weeks thanks to this and other midterms/tests.