Shakespeare: Page, Stage and Screen unit (HEN310)

Hobart, Online

Introduction

This unit provides opportunity to study a selection of Shakespearean plays and their stage and screen performance afterlives. Starting from a close consideration of Shakespeare's dramatic language, the unit will consider the multiple possibilites the plays offer for realization in performance. Students will explore a range of issues associated with the development of Shakespeare's scripts for performance, such as the differences between stage and screen adaptation, the relationship between Shakespeare's language and the visual language of film, and the ways in which Shakespeare adaptations reflect changing cultural perspectives and preoccupations.

Summary

Unit name	Shakespeare: Page, Stage and Screen
Unit code	HEN310
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Arts and Society Humanities and Social Sciences
Discipline	English
Coordinator	Associate Professor Naomi Milthorpe
Available as an elective?	Yes
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Advanced

Availability

Location	Study period	Attendance options		Available to
Hobart	Semester 2
Online	Semester 2

Note

Please check that your computer meets the minimum System Requirements if you are attending via Distance/Off-Campus.

Units are offered in attending mode unless otherwise indicated (that is attendance is required at the campus identified). A unit identified as offered by distance, that is there is no requirement for attendance, is identified with a nominal enrolment campus. A unit offered to both attending students and by distance from the same campus is identified as having both modes of study.

Key Dates

Study Period	Start date	Census date	WW date	End date
Semester 2	5/7/2026	27/7/2026	30/8/2026	24/10/2026

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2026 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2026 will be available from the 1st October 2025. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse Shakespearean texts and their screen adaptations through use of the critical apparatus supplied in recent editions, and close attention to elements of form, structure and style in the selected plays and their screen adaptations
• Demonstrate knowledge of significant aspects of the plays (including language, characterization and ideas), ways in which the plays have been adapted for film, and key theories relevant to the study of Shakespeare and Shakespeare on film
• Construct an argument supported by evidence from your chosen texts and reference to secondary sources
• Communicate and critically reflect upon learning through scholarly written and oral form, as appropriate

Fee Information

Field of Education	Commencing Student Contribution 1,3	Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3	Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3	Domestic Full Fee 4
091523	$592.00	$592.00	not applicable	$2,101.00

• Available as a Commonwealth Supported Place
• HECS-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility³
• FEE-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility⁴

¹ Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
² Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
³ Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
⁴ Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.

If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UniConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.

Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.

Requisites

Prerequisites

25 credit points at Introductory level or higher

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	On Campus: Weekly lectures and audio/visual resources (1 hour); weekly tutorials (1.5 hours) Off Campus: Weekly lectures and audio/visual resources (1 hour); weekly online participation
Assessment	Tutorial/ Online Audiovisual Presentation (20%)|Seminar/ Online Participation (30%)|Research essay or Unessay (50%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required	You will need copies of the following plays, preferably in the following editions:   • William Shakespeare, Richard III. Ed John Jowett (Oxford UP) • William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Ed Sheldon P. Zitner (Oxford UP) • William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, ed. Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor (Arden/Bloomsbury)
Recommended	Recommended secondary readings are available as e-readings or on Short Loan through the HEN310 Shakespeare: Page, Stage and Screen Reading List.  These readings will help to anchor your understanding of Shakespeare, his plays and their adaptations to their historical, political and cultural contexts and to contemporary developments in literary criticism.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.