To cite Macbeth, list William Shakespeare as the author and treat the play as a standalone book in your works cited or reference list, then use act, scene, and line numbers instead of page numbers for every in-text citation. The exact format changes depending on whether your instructor wants MLA, APA, or Chicago style, and the edition you read from (Wordsworth Editions, Folger, Arden, or a course anthology) changes the publisher details in the entry.
Quick Reference: How to Cite Macbeth in Every Style
The table below shows the works cited or reference entry and the in-text citation format for the four styles students use most often. Swap in your own edition’s publisher and year if you are not using Wordsworth Editions. Browse our full citation guide hub for other source types.
| Style | Works Cited / Reference Entry | In-Text Citation |
|---|---|---|
| MLA (9th ed.) | Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Wordsworth Editions, 1992. | (Macbeth 1.7.1-4) |
| APA (7th ed.) | Shakespeare, W. (1992). Macbeth. Wordsworth Editions. (Original work published 1623) | (Shakespeare, 1623/1992) |
| Chicago (Notes-Bibliography) | Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. London: Wordsworth Editions, 1992. | Footnote: William Shakespeare, Macbeth (London: Wordsworth Editions, 1992), 1.7.1-4. |
| Harvard | Shakespeare, W. (1992) Macbeth. London: Wordsworth Editions. | (Shakespeare, 1992, 1.7.1-4) |
MLA Citation for Macbeth
MLA citation style treats Macbeth as a standalone play, so the works cited entry starts with the author’s last name, then the italicized title, then the publisher and year.
MLA Works Cited Entry
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Wordsworth Editions, 1992.
If your copy of the play appears inside a textbook or anthology, add the anthology title, editor, and page range after the play title, the same way you would cite any work in a collection.
MLA In-Text Citation for Macbeth
Because Macbeth is divided into acts, scenes, and lines rather than numbered pages in most editions, MLA in-text citations for plays use those three numbers separated by periods instead of a page number.
Correct: Lady Macbeth urges her husband to “screw your courage to the sticking-place” (Macbeth 1.7.60).
Incorrect: Lady Macbeth urges her husband to “screw your courage to the sticking-place” (page 45).
Read our full guide to citing a play in MLA for citation rules that apply to any Shakespeare drama, or use the MLA citation generator to build the entry automatically.
APA Citation for Macbeth
APA 7th edition asks for the author’s last name and first initial, the publication year of your specific edition, the italicized title, and the publisher. When you cite a classic play like Macbeth, APA also recommends noting the original publication date in parentheses.
APA Reference List Entry
Shakespeare, W. (1992). Macbeth. Wordsworth Editions. (Original work published 1623)
APA In-Text Citation for Macbeth
For a classic work with both an original and a reprint date, APA in-text citations show both years separated by a slash: (Shakespeare, 1623/1992). If your assignment does not require act, scene, and line detail, this format alone is usually enough. When quoting a specific passage, add the location after the year, for example (Shakespeare, 1623/1992, 1.7.1-4).
Build your entry faster with the APA citation generator.
Chicago Style Citation for Macbeth
Chicago style offers two citation systems, and the one your instructor expects usually depends on your subject area.
Notes-Bibliography System
This system is common in literature and humanities courses. The bibliography entry lists the author, title, city, publisher, and year.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. London: Wordsworth Editions, 1992.
The first footnote or endnote spells out the full citation, including the act, scene, and line numbers of the quoted passage.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth (London: Wordsworth Editions, 1992), 1.7.1-4.
Author-Date System
Some social science courses prefer the author-date system instead, which pairs an in-text citation with a matching reference list entry.
In-text: (Shakespeare 1992, 1.7.1-4)
Reference list: Shakespeare, William. 1992. Macbeth. London: Wordsworth Editions.
Prefer a tool over typing it by hand? The Chicago author-date citation generator builds both formats for you.
Harvard and Turabian Citations for Macbeth
Harvard referencing follows the same author-date logic as Chicago’s author-date system. List the author’s surname, initial, year, italicized title, and publisher. Then cite act, scene, and line numbers in parentheses when you quote the text directly.
Turabian is a simplified version of Chicago style that many undergraduate programs use. It follows the same notes-bibliography or author-date structure shown above. Check with your instructor about which Turabian variant your course requires. The MLA Style Center and the APA and Chicago manuals all publish free style-specific FAQs if your course allows outside lookups.
Citing Different Editions of Macbeth
For citation guidance on Shakespeare’s other plays and poems, see our full hub for citing Shakespeare.
Tip: Act, scene, and line numbers stay consistent across most editions, but the publisher, city, and year in your works cited entry change depending on whether you are reading a Wordsworth Classics paperback, a Folger Shakespeare Library edition, an Arden Shakespeare edition, or a course anthology. Always cite the exact edition you actually read from.
If your library or course guide points you to a specific scholarly edition, follow its edition and primary-text guidance for details on textual variants between quarto and folio versions of the play, since some instructors want you to note which base text your edition uses.
When a commonly studied play like Macbeth appears without line numbers in your specific copy, MLA’s own style guidance explains how to cite an edition without line numbers by using scene and approximate location instead.
Citing Multiple Shakespeare Plays
When a paper quotes more than one Shakespeare play, MLA and Chicago in-text citations often use a short abbreviated title before the act, scene, and line numbers so the reader can tell which play a quote comes from. For Macbeth, that abbreviation is typically Mac.
Example: (Mac. 1.7.60) distinguishes a Macbeth quote from (Ham. 3.1.56) in the same paragraph.
If your paper only cites Macbeth, the shortened title Macbeth or the full italicized title works fine on its own.
Citing a Digital or Online Edition of Macbeth
Many students read Macbeth through a free digital text instead of a print edition. Add the website name and the URL after the publisher information when you cite a web version of the play. Most digital editions skip fixed page numbers, so act, scene, and line numbers matter even more.
Our guide to citing a website in an essay walks through the format for adding a URL and access date to a citation entry.
Citing the Complete Works Instead of a Single Play
Add the collection title after the play title when your assignment cites Shakespeare’s complete works rather than a standalone Macbeth edition. Include the editor’s name too, since most complete-works volumes are edited collections rather than single-author books.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, edited by W. J. Craig, Wordsworth Editions, 1992, pp. 872-901.
See our guide to citing books for the general rule on citing an edited collection.
Quick Checklist Before You Submit Your Macbeth Citation
Before you submit any paper that cites Macbeth, run through this five-point checklist. It catches the mistakes graders flag most often: an unspelled-out author name, a title that is not italicized, page numbers used in place of act, scene, and line numbers, publisher details that do not match your actual edition, and a citation style that shifts partway through the paper.
- Author name spelled out as Shakespeare, William in the works cited or reference entry.
- Play title italicized every time it appears, including in-text.
- Act, scene, and line numbers used instead of page numbers for quotes.
- Publisher, city, and year match the exact edition you read from.
- Same style used consistently across every citation in the paper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I italicize Macbeth in my citation?
Yes. Macbeth is a full-length play published as a standalone work, so its title is italicized in every citation style, both in the works cited or reference entry and whenever you mention the title in your text.
How do I cite a specific quote from Macbeth?
Use act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods, such as (Macbeth 1.7.1-4) in MLA or (Shakespeare 1992, 1.7.1-4) in Chicago’s author-date system. Check the reference examples at APA Style’s reference examples page if you need the equivalent APA in-text format for a classic play.
What if my edition of Macbeth does not have line numbers?
Cite the act and scene, then add a brief description of the passage’s location, such as near the beginning or end of the scene, so your reader can still find the quote in a different edition.
Can I use the same citation for the play and a film adaptation of Macbeth?
No. A film adaptation is a separate work with its own director, studio, and release year, so it needs its own citation entry rather than reusing the play text’s citation.
Whichever style your course requires, keeping the author, title, publisher, and act-scene-line format consistent across every citation of Macbeth is what actually earns you the credit, not which generator you used to build the entry.
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Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.