How to Quote Shakespeare in MLA
To quote Shakespeare in MLA, cite by act, scene, and line numbers rather than page numbers, separated by periods: (Rom. 2.2.33–36) points to Romeo and Juliet, act 2, scene 2, lines 33 to 36. Use Arabic numerals, mark line breaks in verse with a slash, and use a block quote for passages longer than three lines of verse. The reason you cite by line is that any reader can find act 2, scene 2, line 33 in any edition, while page numbers change from book to book. Here is how to do it for both short quotes and dialogue.
How to cite Shakespeare by act, scene, and line
MLA cites plays by division numbers so the reference works across editions. Give act, scene, and line separated by periods, with no spaces: (3.1.55–57) means act 3, scene 1, lines 55 to 57. Use an en dash or hyphen for a line range. On first mention you can name the play in your sentence; after that, an abbreviation in the parenthetical is fine (Ham. for Hamlet, Mac. for Macbeth, Rom. for Romeo and Juliet). If your paper discusses only one play, you can drop the title abbreviation and cite just the numbers. The broader rules are in how to quote Shakespeare with act, scene, and line numbers.
How to quote verse and mark line breaks
Most of Shakespeare is written in verse, so line breaks matter and you have to preserve them. For a short quote of up to three lines, run it into your sentence and mark each line break with a forward slash, with a space on either side: Juliet asks, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet” (2.2.43–44). Keep the original capitalization at the start of each verse line. For a quote of four or more verse lines, use a block quote instead.
How to block quote Shakespeare
When a passage runs longer than three lines of verse, set it as a block quote: start a new line, indent the whole passage half an inch, drop the quotation marks, and keep the original line breaks exactly as printed rather than using slashes. Put the citation in parentheses after the final punctuation. Preserve the indentation of the original where the text is indented. The general mechanics match any MLA block quote, covered in how to block quote.
How to quote Romeo and Juliet and other dialogue
When you quote two or more characters speaking, format it as dialogue in a block quote. Begin each part with the character’s name in capitals followed by a period, indent, and start each new speaker on a new line with a further indent for turnover lines. This keeps the exchange readable and shows who says what. For a single character’s line, the normal short-quote or block-quote rules apply. Quoting a play differs from quoting fiction mainly in this line-and-scene numbering, as our guide to how to quote a play explains.
Setting up the quote in your sentence
Introduce Shakespeare quotes the way you would any source, with a signal phrase that gives context: who is speaking and when. In the balcony scene, Juliet argues that a name is arbitrary… reads better than dropping the line in cold. Then explain what the quote shows for your argument. Techniques for the lead-in are in how to introduce a quote, and the Works Cited entry follows MLA’s format for a play in an anthology or single edition, as in how to quote in MLA.
Omitting and altering words
The same editing rules apply to Shakespeare as to any quote, with the line format on top. To cut words from the middle of a quotation, use an ellipsis: “What’s in a name? … it would smell as sweet.” To add a word for clarity, such as identifying who “he” is, put it in square brackets. Keep the original spelling and punctuation, including archaic forms like “’tis” or “ne’er,” since altering them changes the text. If a line has unusual capitalization or an apostrophe standing in for a dropped letter, reproduce it as printed rather than modernizing it.
The Works Cited entry
Your in-text citations point to a Works Cited entry for the edition you used. List the play by author (Shakespeare, William), title (italicized), the editor of your edition, publisher, and year. If you’re quoting from an anthology, cite the anthology and give the play’s page range. Because you’re citing by act, scene, and line in the text, the reader can locate any quote in any edition, but the Works Cited entry still has to name the specific edition you worked from so page-level details match. When and how the citation attaches is covered in how to cite a quote.
FAQ
How do you cite Shakespeare in MLA?
By act, scene, and line, separated by periods: (2.2.33–36). Use line numbers instead of page numbers so the citation works in any edition.
How do you quote Romeo and Juliet?
For up to three verse lines, run them into your sentence and mark line breaks with a slash. For longer passages or two speakers, use an indented block quote with the citation like (Rom. 3.1.55–57).
How do you show line breaks when quoting Shakespeare?
In a short quote, use a forward slash with a space on each side to mark each break. In a block quote, keep the actual line breaks and drop the slashes.
Do you use page numbers when quoting Shakespeare?
No. MLA cites plays by act, scene, and line numbers, not pages, because those divisions are the same across editions.