How to Write In-Text Citations for English Literature

In English Literature, in-text citations do more than avoid plagiarism; they anchor your close readings to specific linguistic moments in a text. Unlike social sciences that prioritize the currency of data, literary studies focus on the precise location of a word or phrase, requiring a mastery of MLA format to navigate complex verse, drama, and prose structures.

What Is an In-Text Citations in English Literature?

An in-text citation in English Literature is a brief reference within your essay that directs the reader to the full bibliographic entry in your Works Cited list. In this discipline, citations primarily use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style, which emphasizes the author's last name and the specific page number or line number. This allows scholars to verify your interpretations of literary devices, motifs, and historical context within the primary source or secondary critical theory.

Before You Start

• Identify the specific edition of the primary text, as pagination varies significantly between Penguin Classics and Norton Critical Editions.
• Determine if your source is a poem, a play in verse, a play in prose, or a novel, as each requires a different citation marker.
• Gather the surnames of any literary critics whose secondary arguments you are engaging with, such as Edward Said or Julia Kristeva.
• Confirm whether you are quoting a direct passage or paraphrasing a thematic argument to decide if quotation marks are necessary.

Cite Standard Prose with Page Numbers

For novels or short stories, include the author's last name and the page number. If you mention the author in the sentence (a signal phrase), only the page number goes in parentheses.

Example: Virginia Woolf's protagonist reflects that 'life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged' (Woolf 160).

Tip: Always place the period after the closing parenthesis, not inside the quotation marks.

Format Short Poetry Quotations

When citing three lines or fewer of poetry, use a forward slash with a space on each side to indicate line breaks. Use line numbers instead of page numbers.

Example: T.S. Eliot opens the poem with the jarring image of 'the evening spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table' (lines 2-3).

Tip: Write the word 'lines' in the first citation of the poem, then use only the numbers in subsequent citations.

Cite Verse Drama by Act, Scene, and Line

For Shakespearean plays or other verse drama, provide the act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods. This allows readers to find the quote in any edition.

Example: Hamlet questions the nature of existence in his most famous soliloquy: 'To be, or not to be: that is the question' (3.1.56).

Tip: Use Arabic numerals (3.1.56) rather than Roman numerals (III.i.56) unless your professor specifically requests the older style.

Handle Block Quotations for Long Passages

If a prose quotation exceeds four lines, or a poetry quotation exceeds three lines, start it on a new line and indent the whole block. In this case, the period comes before the parenthetical citation.

Example: In 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' the narrator's obsession with the room's decor reaches a fever pitch: It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things. (Gilman 13)

Tip: Do not use quotation marks around block quotes; the indentation itself signals that the text is a quotation.

Incorporate Secondary Critical Theory

When citing a literary critic's analysis, ensure the citation follows the specific claim being attributed to them. This is vital when synthesizing multiple perspectives.

Example: While some see the monster as a blank slate, Gilbert and Gubar argue that he represents a 'disfigured' female subtext in the nineteenth-century imagination (244).

Tip: Use signal phrases to introduce the critic's name, which makes your academic 'conversation' flow more naturally than parenthetical-heavy sentences.

Cite Indirect Sources (Citing a Quote within a Quote)

If you find a great quote from a writer inside another critic's book, use 'qtd. in' (quoted in) to indicate you did not read the original source.

Example: Samuel Johnson famously described the Metaphysical poets as 'men of learning' (qtd. in Eliot 4).

Tip: Whenever possible, try to locate the original source to avoid 'qtd. in' and ensure the context is accurate.

Abbreviate Common Literary Titles

In long papers discussing multiple works by the same author, include a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citation to avoid confusion.

Example: Dickens highlights the disparity of wealth through the character of Jo (Bleak House 210), whereas in other works the focus is on industrialization (Hard Times 45).

Tip: Italicize the titles of books and plays, but use quotation marks for the titles of short stories and poems.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Including 'p.' or 'pp.' before page numbers (MLA style requires only the numeral).
• Placing the author's name in parentheses when it has already been mentioned in the sentence.
• Using page numbers for classic poems where line numbers are the standard scholarly requirement.
• Forgetting to use a slash (/) to indicate line breaks in short poetry excerpts.
• Putting the period inside the quotation marks instead of after the parenthetical citation in prose.

Pro Tips

• When citing a play in prose (like those of Oscar Wilde), use the page number from your specific edition since line numbers usually don't exist.
• If you are quoting a character's dialogue in a novel, use single quotation marks for the character's speech inside your double quotation marks.
• For epic poems like 'Paradise Lost,' cite by book and line number (e.g., 4.22-24) rather than page number.
• If citing a digital source without page numbers, use the author's name alone or a stable section identifier like a chapter name.
• Check if your primary text is a translation; if so, you may need to mention the translator's name in your first citation or your Works Cited list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a quote that spans two pages in a novel?

Use a hyphen between the page numbers without repeating the tens digit if it stays the same, such as (Morrison 124-28). If it spans more, use the full numbers.

Do I need to cite the author's name every time if I am only writing about one book?

After the first citation where you establish the author, you can use just the page numbers in parentheses, provided no other sources are introduced in between.

How do I cite a poem with no line numbers provided in the text?

If the poem is short and lacks line numbers, you may use the page number, or if it is only one page, no number is required in the parenthetical citation.

What if a literary work has multiple authors or editors?

For two authors, list both (Gilbert and Gubar 12). For three or more, use the first author's name followed by 'et al.' (Horkheimer et al. 45).

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