Overview
In this unit you will investigate the plays and performance practices of Ben Jonson, Christopher (Kit) Marlowe and William Shakespeare. You will study these playwrights' use of language and the evolution of words. You will experiment with the playwrights' writing styles and short performance activities to allow a deep investigation of these writers for the stage. You will explore the stories and structure that make up the plots and plays by Shakespeare, Jonson and Marlowe, comparing their use of literary devices and theatrical techniques.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 credit points
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback
Students enjoyed the practical approach to the playscripts
Continue to offer in-class readings and discussions of different play scripts by the three playwrights
Feedback from Student feedback
Students appreciated learning from each other in the peer review tasks
Continue to provide peer review and in-class opportunities for students to share their research and ideas
- Explore and analyse the language, concepts and playscript devices used by Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare
- Rationalise and validate compositional choices in writing
- Cross-examine the theatrical practices of Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare through character analysis and performance of specific excerpts from their plays.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Creative work - 30% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||
| 3 - Presentation - 30% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
l.lorenza@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Unit Overview: Meeting the Lads
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Actors are amateur psychiatrists
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Shivering in the open pit
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Social Issues
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Satire and Humour
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Royal Stories
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Interpreting Script
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2026Module/Topic
Interpreting Script
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2026Module/Topic
Interpreting ScriptInterpreting Script
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2026Module/Topic
Interpreting Script
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2026Module/Topic
Peer review presentations
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Peer review presentations
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Creative work
There are three components in this assessment task.
In this task you are the playwright and the actor. You will experiment with language to create one character’s perspective of a moment.
Part 1: Think of an event, it can be as simple as walking down the street or as extravagant as the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
You need to:
- situate yourself in that event.
- tell the audience about other characters in the scene, or if you are alone.
- tell the audience, what you are seeing, hearing feeling, experiencing.
- look to examples of monologues and tutorial references explored in Week 2.
- read, rehearse and revise your monologue in contemporary everyday English.
Part 2: Look back at the tutorial content and references from Week 2 and how Shakespeare used iambic pentameter.
You need to:
- rewrite your monologue in iambic pentameter.
- read, rehearse and revise your monologue in iambic pentameter.
Part 3: Record both monologues.
- Present these as an actor to camera, do not read your monologues.
- From your performance the audience should be able to make assumptions about your character’s given circumstances:
-
- Who you are
- Where you are
- How you are feeling
- What is happening
- How it is happening
- What is at stake
- What you want.
Format for your presentation:
This is to be a pre-recorded presentation of both monologues.
Each monologue may be 1 to 2 minutes in length
Include your name, student number and title of your monologue in the opening credits of the recording.
Include a final credits screen which includes a list of references (from Week 2).
This is a creative task, so please, be creative.
AI Assessment Scale: Level 1 - You must not use AI at any point during this assessment. You must demonstrate your
core skills and knowledge. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of
academic integrity.
Please note: The 72-Hour grace period ay be applied in consultation with your lecturer..
Week 5 Monday (6 Apr 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
online submission via Moodle
Week 7 Friday (1 May 2026)
graded and comments via Moodle
- Clear inclusion of given circumstances in both monologues (20%)
- Clearly presented script as a Word doc. for each monologue (10%)
- Effective communication of the character in contemporary English (20%)
- Effective communication of the character in iambic pentameter (20%)
- Ability to communicate each monologue clearly and logically to an audience through audio-visual media (20%)
- Correct use of APA style for the in-text referencing and reference list (10%)
Peer assessment criteria
The audience felt they could identify the given circumstances in each monologue:
- Who you are
- Where you are
- How you are feeling
- What is happening
- How it is happening
- What is at stake
- What you want.
No submission method provided.
- Explore and analyse the language, concepts and playscript devices used by Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare
- Rationalise and validate compositional choices in writing
2 Written Assessment
Log intended content with tutor in Week 5.
Did Jonson and Shakespeare or Marlowe and Shakespeare script the same stories in the same way?
Word count: 2000 words
In this written task you will compare the writing and theatrical devices used by Jonson and Shakespeare or by Marlowe and Shakespeare.
In your essay you must:
- Identify the two playwrights you have chosen and why
- Identify the plays you have chosen to compare
- Why you have chosen these plays
- Your argument must:
- Give examples of the writing and theatrical devices evident in excerpts from each play
- Analyse these examples to compare and/or contrast the work of the two playwrights
- Your conclusion should summarise and clarify your position in response to the question.
Assessment format
- Use 12 point Times New Roman font for the body of the essay.
- 1.5 spacing throughout
- You may use sub-headings if you wish to organise your assignment. These may be in a different colour or different size font.
- Include in-text references (citations) throughout the assignment.
- Include your name and student number in the header of the document
- Include page numbers in the footer of the document
- Include a Reference List at the end of the assignment in APA style, 7th edition.
- You should have a minimum of 5 references for this assignment, including the two plays
- Do NOT cite from Wikipedia or other websites that do not have an acknowledged author.
- Include in your reference list all images, authoritative websites, music scores used, Youtube sources, as well as books, academic journal articles, and articles from library databases.
AI Assessment Scale: Level 1 - You must not use AI at any point during this assessment. You must demonstrate your
core skills and knowledge. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of
academic integrity.
Please note: The 72-Hour grace period may apply inconsultaiton with your lecturer.
Week 10 Monday (18 May 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
online via Moodle
Week 11 Friday (29 May 2026)
online via Moodle
-
Clear introduction and conclusion (10%)
-
Accuracy of information and depth of treatment of the topic (25%)
-
Detailed discussion on the primary source examples (25%)
-
Ability to write clearly and logically (15%)
-
Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and clear lay-out (10%)
-
Correct use of APA style for the in-text referencing and reference list (15%)
- Explore and analyse the language, concepts and playscript devices used by Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare
- Rationalise and validate compositional choices in writing
3 Presentation
Log intended content with tutor in Week 8.
There are 2 components to this assessment task.
In this assessment you are the actor. You are presenting your study of your chosen character to your peers, who are also actors.
Select one character from a play by Shakespeare, Marlowe or Jonson that particularly interests you. As an actor you will explore this character’s journey in the play and find examples of the script that help you explore the character’s given circumstances and their journey in the play.
Part 1
In your recorded presentation you will share your discoveries about your character.
Refer to excerpts from the script to show what you have learned about the character from the script.
You need to use script excerpts to show:
- Who your character is
- Where your character is
- How your character is feeling
- What is happening
- How it is happening
- What is at stake
- What does your character want
Part 2
Select a monologue by this character which demonstrates what you have discovered in your character study. Learn and rehearse your performance of the monologue to perform at the end of your presentation.
Record your presentation and performance of the monologue to camera.
Format for your presentation
- This is to be a pre-recorded presentation of both your character study and your chosen monologue
- The character study may take up to 5 minutes
- The monologue may be up to 2 minutes duration
- Include your name, student number and title of your character study in the opening credits of the recording.
- Include a final credits screen which includes a list of references.
- You need to be visually present on screen in both the presentation and the monologue performance. In the presentation you may incorporate visual aids by using presentation tools such as Adobe creative cloud, Powerpoint, Prezi, Camtasia, iMovie or another presentation tool.
- Your submission must be accessible by a link to your Onedrive or YouTube which you will upload to Moodle.
AI Assessment Scale: Level 1 - You must not use AI at any point during this assessment. You must demonstrate your
core skills and knowledge. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of
academic integrity.
Please note: The 72-Hour grace period may apply in consultation with your lecturer.
Week 12 Monday (1 June 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
online via Moodle
Vacation/Exam Week Friday (19 June 2026)
online via Moodle
- Clear identification of the character and why you chose them (20%)
- Effective analysis of the script to demonstrate given circumstances (10%)
- Effective analysis of the script to demonstrate understanding of the character (20%)
- Ability to share your character study clearly and logically to an audience through audio-visual media (20%)
- Ability to communicate the monologue clearly and logically to an audience through audio-visual media (20%)
- Correct use of APA style for the in-text referencing and reference list (10%)
- Peer assessment (20 %)
Peer assessment criteria:
The audience felt you gave them effective insight into your character:
- Who your character is
- Where your character is
- How your character is feeling
- What is happening
- How it is happening
- What is at stake
- What does your character want
- The selected monologue demonstrated what you had discovered about the character.
- Explore and analyse the language, concepts and playscript devices used by Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare
- Cross-examine the theatrical practices of Jonson, Marlowe and Shakespeare through character analysis and performance of specific excerpts from their plays.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
