Figuring out how to cite Shakespeare feels different from other sources. It is. Instead of relying on a page number, you will use the play’s internal roadmap: the act, scene, and line. This system ensures anyone can find your exact quotation in any edition of the play, a bibliographic polestar for scholars everywhere.
TL;DR: The Quick Version
- For in text citations, both MLA and APA use the act, scene, and line numbers.
- The reference page format (Works Cited for MLA, References for APA) depends on your source: standalone book, anthology, or website.
- If your writing discusses more than one play by William Shakespeare, you must abbreviate the play’s title in your parenthetical citations for MLA format.
- Need a fast solution? A good citation generator can help build your references.
Crafting Your In Text Citation in MLA Format
When you quote or paraphrase from one of Shakespeare’s works, your parenthetical text citation should contain the play’s title (or an abbreviation) followed by the numbers for the act, scene, and lines, separated by periods. You don’t need to write out the words, just use the numerals.
Lady Macbeth’s ambition is chilling when she calls on dark spirits to “unsex me here” (Macbeth 1.5.48).
For a short quotation of verse (three lines or fewer), integrate it into your sentence and use a forward slash with a space on each side to mark a new line in the poetry.
Prospero acknowledges his magical creations will dissolve, stating, “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep” (The Tempest 4.1.168-170).
For longer quotations (four or more lines), you must use a block quote. Start the quotation on a new line, indent the entire block half an inch from the left margin, and do not use quotation marks. If citing dialogue between characters, state their names in all caps. Use a hanging indent for any subsequent lines from a single character’s speech. The parenthetical citation comes after the final punctuation.
OBERON. What hast thou done? Thou hast mistaken quite
And laid the love juice on some true love’s sight.
ROBIN. Then fate o’errules, that, one man holding troth,
A million fail, confounding oath on oath. (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3.2.90-93)
A quick tip: If you only cite one Shakespeare play in your entire essay, you can use “Shakespeare” instead of the play title in the in text citations, like this: (Shakespeare 3.2.90-93).
Building the MLA Works Cited Entry
Your Works Cited entry provides the full publication details. The format changes based on the source, whether it’s a book, an anthology, or a digital text. This is where you’ll list the publisher, publication date, and any editor involved. For more general help with citations, you can review guides on how to format a citation, including specific examples for books, plays, and even poems.
| Source Type | MLA Works Cited Format and Example |
|---|---|
| Standalone Play |
Shakespeare, William. Play Title. Edited by Editor’s Name, Publisher, Date. Example: Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by E. A. J. Honigmann, Arden Shakespeare, 2001. |
| Play in an Anthology |
Shakespeare, William. “Play Title.” Title of Anthology, edited by Editor’s Name, Publisher, Date, pp. page range. Example: Shakespeare, William. “Twelfth Night.” The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, W. W. Norton, 2016, pp. 1907-71. |
Citing Shakespeare in APA Format
APA style, common in social sciences, also has a specific method to cite Shakespeare. The main difference is its focus on the date of publication. I remember the first time I had to switch from MLA to APA; the sudden emphasis on dates felt like a temporal jolt. APA wants to know the original publication year and the year of the version you are using.
For an in text citation, you include the author, original publication year, and the version year. For direct quotes, you still use act, scene, and line numbers instead of a page number.
Yorick is described as “a fellow of infinite jest” (Shakespeare, 1603/1992, 5.1.191–192).
Building the APA Reference List Entry
The reference list entry in APA includes the original work’s publication date at the end of the citation.
| Source Type | APA Reference List Format and Example |
|---|---|
| Standalone Play |
Shakespeare, W. (Year of Version). Play title. (Editor Initial. Last Name, Ed.). Publisher. (Original work published Year) Example: Shakespeare, W. (1992). Hamlet (C. Watts & K. Carabine, Eds.). Wordsworth Editions. (Original work published 1603) |
| Play in an Anthology |
Shakespeare, W. (Year of Anthology). Play title. In Editor Initial. Last Name (Ed.), Title of anthology (pp. page range). Publisher. (Original work published Year) Example: Shakespeare, W. (2016). Twelfth night. In S. Greenblatt (Ed.), The Norton Shakespeare (pp. 1907-1971). W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1623) |
Citing Films and Special Sections
Students today often engage with Shakespeare’s works in different media. But what about how to cite Shakespeare when it’s not a book? If you analyze a film adaptation, your citation should prioritize the director. The title of the film is your primary source, and William Shakespeare is credited as the writer.
Film Example (MLA): Macbeth. Directed by Joel Coen, performances by Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, A24, 2021.
Sometimes you may need to cite a prologue or epilogue. If these sections have designated line numbers but no act or scene, you simply use the name of the section and the line reference in your text citation. The MLA Style Center offers a great explanation for this specific case.
Epilogue Example (MLA): (As You Like It, epilogue, 16-18).
What if I use more than one Shakespeare play?
If your paper references multiple plays, you must use an abbreviation for each play’s title in your MLA in text citations to avoid confusion. The MLA has a standard list of abbreviations (e.g., Ham. for Hamlet, Rom. for Romeo and Juliet). Your Works Cited list should have a separate works cited entry for each play you cite. In APA, you would simply repeat the full in-text citation format for each play.
Why is the MLA format preferred for citing Shakespeare?
The MLA format is standard for literary and humanities writing. Its focus on author and title, along with the specific rules for citing verse and plays using act, scene, and line, makes it the perfect format to cite Shakespeare accurately and clearly. APA is more common in the social sciences.