Watson is phenomenally engaging and inspiring, very humble, and somehow speaks in perfect sentences while lecturing. Cant overstate how much he brought to the plays. I had never taken a Shakespeare class and left 150b wishing the english major still demanded 3 quarters of shakespeare.

This class is not great for individuals who do not like A LOT of reading. Overall, I found the workload to be unmanageable, the lectures were very unclear--the professor does not ask students questions and lectures for the entire time. His exams are a strain and they're in person. If you really like Shakespeare and have taken classes prior to this, definitely take it--this course is interesting but very challenging to understand and hard to receive an A.

Some people will staunchly sing Watson's praises. However, I'm taking his class and he dropped a lengthy midterm on us four days before we're due to take it. You'd need to memorize a sonnet word for word, be able to identify passages, write a short essay, AND recall his 2-hour lectures in order to answer written questions. He will not warn you of this beforehand. This is just the midterm. You also have to write two essays (one short, one long) and take a final exam. I'm sure this is great for people obsessed with Shakespeare and already familiar with his work. If that isn't you, maybe pick a different class or instructor.

Shakespeare was dropping bars when he said "To be or not to be" bruh. Like he knew shit was gonna be quoted. Professor Watson probably agrees too.

In all realness, honestly, if you're taking a hefty course load, I would not recommend this class. If you're not into theatre or Shakespeare, definitely don't even consider it. There was a lot more work than is typically expected for a GE; 2 essays along with a midterm and final exam. The exams asked a lot of memorization, with passage identification sections which were hard unless you basically read each play 2-3 times. I will say, however, that the course was really interesting! Professor Watson really knows what he's talking about - he's very passionate about English analysis and Shakespeare which is always enlightening to see. Most of the class was just him going on long tangents about Shakespeare which was actually interesting (while for some, I would understand if it does get redundant). I LOVED the texts we read. Hamlet and Othello are must reads and I romanticized my walk home from class. I became a poet, a Shakespeare disciple, if you will. In short, class was a lot of work but if you've already read a bunch of Shakespeare texts, I would definitely recommend it.

Professor Watson is one of the most knowledgeable and passionate professors that I have ever had the pleasure to take. He LOVES Shakespeare and it rubs off onto you! I am an aerospace engineering major, who is just trying to complete a GE, and I found myself loving every single lecture. Watson doesn't have slides, his lectures are him standing in front of us, speaking the whole time. He gives us a printed handout and we will use that for the lecture. Watson is extremely entertaining, he'll read in funny voices, he comes dressed up to class, one time when reading a death scene, Watson completely faked his death and was on the floor. I have NEVER been bored in this class and found myself looking forward to attending each lecture. Now, for the class portion of the class. I have not read a single play, I will admit. As said before, I am an aerospace engineering major, I do not have time to read a new play each week. However, just from going to lecture and discussion, I fully know what has happened in each play and have felt as if I have read it. I watched a couple of analysis videos of the different plays we have read before the midterm and got an A on it. However, if you HATE literature, do not take this class. I have always had an interest in this subject, so I found it all fun. But if you can not stand anything literature related, not the class for you. But personally, I absolutely adore this class and Professor Watson.

Prof. Watson is so so passionate about his field of study. Although he does not use lecture slides/presentations I think it works to his advantage. He prints out copies of passages from plays and goes through them in class by lecturing and explaining them, their implications, and how they relate to other plays or broader themes/ideas. We read a total of 7 plays throughout the quarter which felt just right (he spent around 2-3 lectures on each play) and watched 2 film adaptations of the plays. The workload resides in reading the plays, 2 essays (short and long), attending discussion, a midterm, and final. The midterm consisted of memorizing a sonnet, passage identification, and 4-5 short essay responses-- it felt somewhat rushed for the time given, but the material was very straightforward. As long as you attend lecture, make annotations/notes on the passages, and read the plays, you should be in good shape to succeed in the course.

the ONLY white man I can respect, Watson you rocked my world with your Taylor Swift and NAACP references, if you haven't taken him before you graduate you don't deserve your diploma I'm afraid #sorrynotsorry

Professor Watson is an amazing, brilliant man. He has so many fascinating topics to talk about and truly has a passion for teaching about Shakespeare.
That said, I found the lectures really boring. I couldn't sit for 1.25 hours and listen to him lecture about the play without any slides. But it was nonetheless very thought-provoking.
Overall, there 5 parts of your grade (Short Essay, Midterm, Long Essay, Final, and Participation). The essays were fine, just go to your TA if you need help. The midterm was pretty easy as well, and the final was weird because of the TA strike.
The workload was tough, as you read a new play every week. So don't take this class unless you're really passionate about learning Shakespeare, and have pretty good writing skills.

Professor Watson is an incredible professor. He truly shows his passion and knowledge in his lectures but is also incredibly engaging and funny. His insights about the plays reveal so much to us that we, as modern people, would have missed without the historical context Watson is so well versed in. His lectures are insightful and interesting, and really illustrate the depth and nuance of Shakespeare's plays, and why they matter today.
The class isn't super hard, as long as you're able to grasp the plot of Shakespeare's plays fairly well. Since you study a different play every week, it can be a bit hard to keep up, but I ended up watching each play (productions are provided on Bruinlearn) and following along with the book, which was more than enough, as you only really need to know the plot for lectures. I would have just watched them but reading was helpful for the essays. The midterm and final were pretty easy, considering that the passage identification was easy and he gave you everything you need for the writing questions in his lectures. They basically test if you were paying attention to the plays and the lectures. There are only two papers, one 3-page and one 5-7 page, on some pretty interesting topics, so all things considered, I found the workload to be very manageable.
If you have any interest in Shakespeare, I highly recommend this class! It seems scarier than it is. If you hate Shakespeare/struggle A LOT with grasping it then this might not be the class for you, since it covers so many plays so quickly. If you're in between, this might be the class that makes you a Shakespeare lover. Also, most people in the class are also Shakespeare/literature nerds so if that's your vibe then it's a good place to meet people :)

Professor Watson is an inspired lecturer - his classes were a highlight of my quarter. The content expectations were challenging (a new play was covered each week) but other than reading or watching the relevant play, workload was fairly minimal. Both exams were fair and approachable and the professor was more than willing to give advice for the short and long essay papers.