‘Redo the Essay, It’s Total and Utter Garbage’ : College Professor Spites Student, Leading To Malicious Compliance That Includes Debunking Professor’s Favorite Literary Magnum Opus

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Feb 28, 2023 10:00 AM EST

I'll be the first to admit, it's so deliciously fun to get back at a professor you dislike, for whatever reason. Sticking it to the know-it-alls is a satisfying feeling. Granted, this is the type of situation that could backfire, but in this case, it did not. A college student was on great terms with her professor until she wasn't. He'd belittled a very long paper she'd written, stating his utter disgust: 'This is a pathetic excuse research-wise and a joke format-wise.

He added that he would allow her to reattempt admitting the paper, but that he wouldn't be so lenient with her in the future. Cue malicious compliance… His standards were high? She'd give him exactly what he wanted. Scroll down to read about the full story in petty detail. She debunked his favorite literary magnum opus written by Shakespeare, and he was less than thrilled. 

For more, check out this tale of malicious compliance that includes fed-up employees and a very greedy company.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Dream_Musician 8 hours ago The paper I wrote isn't to your standards? M OC Have fun reading a thesis
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 02
    Font - In my town there are two colleges; one is a private institution for those with a lot of money, and the other is a run-of-the-mill state college with nothing notable about it. I attend the latter due to my not wanting to take out a copious amount in student loans, and the professors that teach there are a gamble in terms of quality. This is where our antagonist (who we'll refer to as Mr. V.) comes into play: I had taken a Composition II class the semester prior and was
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 03
    Font - on great terms with the man, even having sent a "get well soon" card to his office when he missed a week due to him being severely ill. This is all to say that he and I were pretty close and, with my grades being 95% or more on every assignment, we never had any spats academically either. Come the following semester, where I needed to take what the college referred to as a "worldly elective" in order to finish my Associate's degree. I decided to take Shakespearean, literature with
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 04
    Font - this same man as my professor, and for the first few months everything went swimmingly; assignments got submitted on time, papers were graded with the same high marks I had been receiving, etc, etc. This is where the issues came into play: this semester, since he and I were close and the class was Shakespearean literature, my papers were comedic in nature and I didn't see a need to put my usual 110% into them. He never had a problem with this, going as far as to say he looked forward to r
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 05
    Font - would make him laugh. Then we got the play "The Tempest" which, in his words, "was Shakespeare's magnum opus" and everything went downhill. I wrote my paper as usual, submitted it, and within 48 hours got an email telling me how disgusted he was at my behavior and that the paper was "a pathetic excuse research-wise and a joke format-wise." He said he'd give me one more attempt, but not to expect much leniency in the
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 06
    Font - future, to which I responded, "you'll have it back within 72 hours." I was livid; infuriated beyond belief that 7 papers in he got mad at how I wrote and formatted it for the sole reason that it was about his favorite play. He wants a paper that will wow him? I'll wow him alright. I traded shifts with some of my coworkers and for the next 72 hours, I wrote an 8-page paper about why the Tempest is Shakespeare's worst works, citing some crucial names in the literary
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 07
    Font - world and providing close to 20 sources claiming this to be true. I had other professors at the college proofread it, as well as family and friends. of mine who excel in all things literature, just to be doubly sure of its quality, and submitted it exactly 72 hours later. The paper was given a perfect 100% and I never heard from him outside of class again. According to a friend of mine who took that class the next year, he no longer claims that Tempest is
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 08
    Font - the best work by Shakespeare, and as a whole seemed defeated about even teaching the class. that I TI; Dr - Shakespeare professor got pi made a joke in my essay that his favorite play wasn't the best, so I proved factually it's actually the worst. EDIT: Added spaces (thank you jetah & performanceclause)
    via u/Dream_Musician
  • 09
    Font - 8 hr. ago If you think The Tempest is Shakespeare's worst play, you are very fortunate to have never been subjected to Henry VI, parts 1, 2, and 3. Three fu g plays. A good dramaturg can take all three Henry plays and pull bits out of each one of them, and get one decent play out of all three. But, overall, they are not good. IanDOsmond
    via u/IanDOsmond
  • 10
    Font - Also, Coriolanus. I've seen it twice; my wife has seen it three times, done in three different ways by three brilliant Shakespeare companies. We've hated it each time. Just... everybody in it sucks. There is nobody to root for. You want everybody to die in a fire, and, unfortunately, only some of them do.
    via u/IanDOsmond
  • 11
    Font - The one exception is Tom Hiddleston's National Theatre Live performance in 2014. Only decent Coriolanus we've ever seen. Just... Hiddleston is fu ng amazing. Measure for Measure can be rough. There are things you can do with it, but ... it's pretty brutal for a comedy... Reply Share Vote
    via u/IanDOsmond
  • 12
    Font - PandaMagnus 6 hr. ago Maybe you and your wife don't like tragedies? Fair point on the Henry VIs plays. They drag on and on (and to be fair, aren't considered tragedies.) But Coriolanus (full disclosure, I enjoy the Ralph Fiennes version)? Most tragedies have sly characters. Outside of Julius Caesar,
    via u/PandaMagnus
  • 13
    Font - which is super idealized, and maybe certain readings of Hamlet, none of the characters are that great for his tragedies. Titus Andronicus is (I'm told, but I love the version with Anthony Hopkins) famous for terrible people all working against each other. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    via u/PandaMagnus
  • 14
    Font - alroprezzy +1.7 hr. ago Cute that you think a thesis is 8 pages. Jokes aside, nice work. Vote Reply Share MagicalTouch - 3 hr. ago I was expecting 30/40 when he said "thesis" ✩ Vote Reply Share
    via u/alroprezzy, u/MagicalTouch
  • 15
    Font - jetah +2.8 hr. ago I guess it was 7.5 pages of a single paragraph and .5 of another? Reply Share Vote Dream_Musician OP. 8 hr. ago Yeah my bad Imao Vote Reply Share
    via u/jetah, u/Dream_Musician

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literary-essay humor school malicious compliance shakespeare petty revenge high standards teacher grades magnum-opus thesis university-professor college student
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