ENGL 2527

Professor Maus is indeed incredibly knowledgeable about everything Shakespeare, and is a very kind and understanding person. However, this semester it has just felt that she put minimal effort into the class. It's my biggest complaint about some of the liberal arts professors at UVA; they think that they can come into class and have nothing prepared, and just rely on the class to have a cohesive group discussion to pass the time (this is purely my opinion, and I can understand if this comes off as unreasonably harsh). This did not work. In my class, there were about three or four people max would who talk regularly. For a class that lasts one hour and fifteen minutes, this ended up feeling, for a like of a better description, a waste of time. The reading was the best part, however; we had to read Merchant of Venice, King Richard III, and Much Ado About Nothing, which were terrific - but given what I have previously said, if you are really interested in Shakespeare it might just be better for you to read on your own time. She is also a super harsh grader when it comes to the two papers you have to write - which is a pain as this is a second writing course, but she teaches very little about how to write and what she expects - but is very generous in letting you edit and revise them (note: she takes a while to grade). Be warned, also: you will be required to attend a Shakespeare show in Stanton that costs twenty dollars of your own money. This may change but I found this quite irritating to take six hours off on a Sunday to do this.