ABSTRACT
The historical sublime is an awareness of overwhelming or paradoxical conditions which make impossible the explanation or comprehension of historical events, even to the extent of calling the concept of the event itself into question. This awareness questions the meaningfulness of human events insofar as they can be presented in narrative forms. At the same time, the sublime may compensate for the loss of historical understanding by inspiring awe and astonishment in us. The emotions may pass and be replaced by an explanation that had been, for a while, frustrated. Throughout its history, the concept has taken and continues to take many forms.
