Citing Shakespeare (and other plays)

MLA Rules for Citing Plays, including Shakespeare

• In-text Citations for plays (when you have line numbers)

  • • Omit the page numbers from your in-text citation

    • Cite by division (act, scene) and line, separating the numbers by periods

• • • The example below refers to act 1, scene 5, lines 35-27 of Shakespeare's play Hamlet:

      • • (Hamlet 1.5.35-37)

• • • If you reference the title of the play in your quote/sentence, then you omit the play's title from the in-text citation

      • • Example: In Hamlet, "........." (1.5.35-37).

• In-text Citations for plays (if the book does not have line numbers from original play)

  • • Cite as a typical book source (Author Last Name Page#)