If you are truly interested in English, you definitely need to take Lester's classes. At the 300 level and above I think he focuses a lot on postmodern philosophy and theory. Very difficult material, but grading isn't too tough, and you'll take away a lot from the class. Just how it should be.

Really difficult material, but he made it engaging. Easy grader and very approachable and personable. I enjoyed the class and I would definitely take one from him again.

lester combines wit and intelligence to create a very worthwhile class. in every one of his classes two or three students love him, many are undecided, and the rest complain that he is hard to understand. the complaining students are generally the ones that cannot process the challenging material.

I loved this class. It was very interesting and the discussions were always amazingly informative. Mark is a very nice man and you could always tell how passionate about english he is. We watched a lot of movies and different interpretations of shakespeare, which opened my mind a lot. Excellent class and prof!

Wow. This guy is great. His class is easy yet very mentally stimulating. He uses all sorts of examples in class, from film, media, ect, and how they apply to shakespeare. My only complaint would be he writes on the chalk board then rubs his face, giving himself hilarious war-paint-esque marks. Quite distracting, but still hilarious.

I loved this course. Mark Lester is very passionate about the material he presents in class. The way he approaches the material is very interesting as well although sometimes the lectures seem unnecessarily long at the end of they day they have an exellent message. I reccoment taking any course taugh by this prof he's a great guy.

Amazing class, wonderful teacher. His lectures got a little long for me at times; he went off on tangents a few too many times for my taste, but the challenge of the material and the quality of the class discussions he initiated made this class my favorite this quarter. Oh, and those little glasses of his? HOT!

very challanging intellectually, but not a hard grader. very supportive of individual theory

Porfessor Lester is a very enthusiastic individual. I really enjoyed the books we read. He made me look at literature in a whole new light. He does a great job drawing in society, culture, and history in relation to the books we read. If you want a fun and challenging class, this is it!

Go to class. I got good grades on my papers but I just couldn't stand the lectures. He has a slight studder and mumbles at times. He is a very helpful professor though he answered all my questions during his office hours.

A very fascinating class for anyone interested in Shakespeare. Not that hard, he does take attendance on occasion, be sure to read the material.

Brush up on your french critical theorists, boys and girls! This guy will make your brain hurt in a good way. Lecture gets a little scattered at times, but his enthusiasm for what he is teaching is contagious. Friendly, fair, and smart as hell.

He's a really nice guy and will help you as much as he can to help you get the grade you want.

Dr. Lester is the quintessence of dude. He is chill as hell, the kind of professor who's hella qualified but you'd have NO idea. He's really good at what he does. He's into sexual deviance, but if you get over that little character quirk, he's AWESOME. Great class.

To be honest, you can not onyl pass this class, but get an A just by reading sparknotes and never opening your textbook. I have gotten As on every assignment and not read a word of the plays. He is very smart but goes off on tangents. He's funny and approachable. he takes attendance daily, but is chill and lets you text openly in class.

He was pretty awesome. Not much work for the class, even midterm and final were easy! Fun! I recommend him!

Very passionate about whatever subject he is teaching. I have taken 3 courses from him ending with Eng 313. The class itself is very flawed and should not reflect too much on the prof. He may stutter or mumble, but that does not take away from what he is actually saying. Actually do the reading and participate in discussion and you will do well.

Very passionate and intelligent teacher. You can tell this guy loves english and his enthusiasm really improved the class. I've seen some comments about him being late handing papers back (which is true) but he is totally overworked (for being such a good teacher). Easily one of my favorite teachers at WWU.

I literally only read the sparknotes to all the plays and got an A-. Such an easy class, and Lester is really passionate about literature in general so it wasn't as boring as it could have been. I like Shakespeare a lot but since engaging myself wasn't required for success, I slacked and was bored. You'll get out of this class what you put into it.

Mark Lester is amazing. I loved the required readings(most of which I had never read/heard of). Lester is the kind of professor that drives you to go to class just because you respect him so much. Course theme="the city". He encourages his students to relate the texts to everyday encounters as well as film, poetry, music, and other artistic mediums

Course topic - Narrative Consciousness. This course was extremely challenging as far as the material. You read things like Beckett, Kafka, Lispector, and some shorter articles by the likes of Freud and Nietzsche. Despite this, Lester is a very fair grader and an all around nice, intelligent man. Requires brain power, but very rewarding.

Mark is excellent. The texts he chooses are very thought provoking and require a lot of thought, but if you go to him with your ideas he will be more than willing to help you out. Loves when students pop by his office so he will give great feedback if asked. Overall fair grading and the class is basically group discussion based.

One of the best professors I've ever had. Insightful, analytical and deep in his approach to narrative consciousness.

Mark Lester has so much to offer. My favorite english classes at Western have been administered by him. He is very available to students especially if they are willing to explore subjects in depth. I relearned how to read in his classes. Lots of thick substantial insight, very worthwhile discussions.

You do not have to be a huge fan of Shakespeare to take this course. Mark Lester is a wonderful professor who's enthusiasm about the subject made this class worthwhile. I read the sparknotes versions of the texts and passed with flying colors, however he does call on students to read passages from the text aloud in class.

ONLY TAKE THIS INTRO TO SHAKESPERE CLASS WITH MARK LESTER. This class is unbelievably easy and there is no need to buy the text book. He takes attendance but its not hard to sit in class. Only grades or assignments are 2 play reviews and a take home over a weekend two page double spaced paper on 2 of 5 prompts for the midterm and final. ACGM Check

Lester is ridiculously knowledge regarding literature in general. Kinda tough class but he's the man

I'd highly recommend Lester for anyone who's taking this class to declare an English major. He's a talkative guy, but very passionate about the subject and gives lots of constructive criticism on essays. Grades are based on 3 essays, participation, and a portfolio due at the end of the quarter. It's not an easy A, but the hard work pays off.

Take Intro to Shakespeare with Mark! He takes attendance so you have to go to the lectures, but it's an easy way to boost your grade. You don't have to read the assigned plays because he talks about it during class. The midterm and the final are really easy. He takes a long time to grade the papers though. But I really liked this class!!!

Second time taking a class with Mark, first class was English 214 (Intro to Shakespeare). Great professor, super passionate about English and really cares about the well being of his students. This course was Literature and the Law, a senior seminar and absolutely fascinating. If you have a chance to take a class with Mark, do it!!

This class was tedious but a lot of fun. There's a lot of reading to be done, but the books really are interesting. Lester is a bit scatterbrained and sometimes his tangents are confusing. He leads discussions well and is a really nice man who truly cares about his students. Class is based on 4 essays and participation so not too bad.

Pretty boring but not difficult or tedious. He's a nice guy and grades fairly with good feedback. He plays videos and movies in class sometimes.

Mark is a great professor. He speaks pretty softly and quick, but he is so passionate about everything that he teaches. He's compassionate and kind, so be honest with him about any struggles you're having and he will do what he can to help.

I honestly loved Lester! His taste in literature is dark (in a good way) & he was really passionate about each of the books. While he is soft spoken & talks quickly, his lectures weren't too long & the class was primarily discussion based. Essay topics were broad but he's helpful if you ask. He always had us doing fun small projects in class!

Prof. Lester does speak softly & quickly, & I do admit half the time I was lost, but 313 was pretty much my first experience with lit theory & in retrospect, to struggle is to be expected. He knows his stuff and is extremely approachable. His lectures are extremely clever. If you're confused, go to office hours, & if you can't hear, sit closer!

You read 5 plays and spend about 2 weeks on each with a 5 question multiple choice quiz for each. Midterm and final are two, 1 page double spaced papers about his given prompts. Gives great feedback on essays. One 10 minute group presentation on your choice of Shakespeare scene at the end. Must speak in class and participate. Easy A and great prof.

I took two classes with Mark. The first time I took him, I thought he was boring and monotone. However, he was super sweet and obviously cared a lot about students. He's a really hard grader and don't agree with a lot of his choices, but I keep coming back. Does that make me a masochist? He's one of my favorite teachers because he's so nice, though

i understand the negative reviews for professor lester, but i loved his class. he assigned unique texts and delved super deep into them in lecture. his lectures can be hard to follow, and he honestly ran circles around me intellectually, but i learned sooo much from listening to him. gave super helpful feedback on papers, also very gentle and kind.

He is a super nice guy and has very interesting lectures. This class was graded on only 3 major "papers" and that was basically it. Somewhat easy course. Professor Lester is funny for his age, I wouldn't mind having him again.