Knowing how to cite a play is a specific skill that differs from citing a standard book or article. The structure of a play script, with its acts, scenes, and lines, introduces unique elements to the citation process. Whether you’re referencing a classic tragedy or a contemporary drama, getting the citation right is all about pointing your reader to the exact moment you’re analyzing. If you need a quick start, a good citation generator can help you build the basic framework for your sources.
Citing in MLA Format
The MLA format is the most common style for literary analysis, so we’ll start there. The goal of an MLA style in-text citation for a play is to be as precise as possible. If the play found in your source has numbered lines, you should always use them. The standard format is the author’s last name followed by the act scene and line numbers, separated by periods.
For instance, a reference to Act 1, Scene 2, lines 94-95 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth would look like this: (Shakespeare 1.2.94–95).
If the play script does not include line numbers, you simply use the page number as you would for a regular book. The first time you do this for a work that only has line number references (and no acts or scenes), you should clarify it: (Aeschylus, lines 15–26). After that initial citation, you can omit the word “lines.” When you’re focusing on multiple works by a single author, like Shakespeare, it is clearer to use the play title instead of the author’s name in your in-text citations, like (Macbeth 1.3.188–90).
A quick tip: What if you need to omit some words from a line or several lines you’re quoting? The MLA style guide suggests using an ellipsis, but for verse, there are special rules to maintain the poetic structure. You can find a detailed explanation on how to handle these omissions on the MLA Style’s official site.
Quoting Dialogue in MLA
Quoting dialogue from a play has its own peculiar formatting rules. When a quote runs more than three lines, you must set it as a block quote. Start on a new line, indented half an inch from the left margin. The character’s name should appear in capital letters, followed by a period. Any subsequent line of dialogue for that same character is indented further. The parenthetical citation goes at the very end.
Here is an example of quoting dialogue:
VLADIMIR. Do you remember the gospels?
ESTRAGON. I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That’s where we’ll go, I used to say, that’s where we’ll go for our honeymoon. We’ll swim. We’ll be happy.
VLADIMIR. You should have been a poet.
(Beckett 5)
Creating the Works Cited Entry
Your Works Cited page is where your reader finds the full details of the play. The entry for citing a play depends on how you accessed it.
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- As a Stand-Alone Book: If the play is published on its own, treat it like any other book. List the author, the italicized play’s title, the publisher, and the publication year.
Friel, Brian. Translations. Faber and Faber, 1981.
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- In an Anthology: For a play found in a collection, cite the author and play title first, then provide the details of the anthology, including the editor and the page numbers of the play.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works, edited by John Jowett et al., 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 1998, pp. 2501–2565.
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- A Live Performance: To cite a play you watched live, the citation must capture the ephemeral nature of the event. You’ll include the play’s title, the director, the performance date, the theater, and the city.
Parker, Trey, et al. The Book of Mormon. Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, 20 Feb. 2019, Prince of Wales Theatre, London. Performance.
APA and Chicago Styles at a Glance
While MLA is common in the humanities, you might need to know how to cite a play in other formats. APA and Chicago styles handle plays differently, often prioritizing the publication year. When directly quoting from a script in APA, you must include a location, whether it’s a page number or the act scene and line. Sometimes, a source may not have a page or line number; the APA provides clear guidance on handling direct quotations from such sources.
Here’s a quick comparison for citing a play script.
| Style | In Text Example | Reference / Bibliography Entry |
|---|---|---|
| APA (7th ed.) | (Shakespeare, 1603/2008, 1.4.5) | Shakespeare, W. (2008). Hamlet (S. Greenblatt, Ed.). W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (Original work published 1603) |
| Chicago (17th ed., Author-Date) | (Shakespeare 2004, 1.4.5) | Shakespeare, William. 2004. Hamlet, edited by Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House. |
A Note on Capitalization
Should it be “Act 3” or “act 3”? This tiny detail can be maddening. But there is an answer. According to the Chicago Manual of Style’s inquisitive Q&A section, terms like act and scene are typically lowercased in prose. You would write, “The conflict escalates in act 3,” not “Act 3.” It’s a small distinction that lends your writing a professional sheen. For more help with these kinds of questions, you can always explore general citation questions to refine your work.