Literary Paper Guidlines

Reminder
How to Cite for the Shakespearian Literary Paper
Specific Sources Grouped Together
An Example of a Works Cited List in Alphabetical Order

Reminder

I don't believe that this is in the actual syllabus so let me be really clear. In your literary paper you will need to cite at least three sources:

1 - You will draw from the primary text of Hamlet.

2 - You will use one of the articles (including the introduction) that can also be found in the text.

3 - You may use one online source, be sure to cite it as it was described in class.

If you wish you may go beyond this, but remember the paper is not that long.

AMR3

How to Cite for the Shakespearian Literary Paper

In text:

When quoting four or more lines from Shakespeare, normally you should use block quotation: Richard III tells his troops,

Remember whom you are to cope withal:
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways,
A scum of Britains and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'ercloyed country vomits forth
To desperate adventures and assur'd destruction.
(V.iii.315-319)

In your manuscript, indent block quotations twice (two tabs or ten spaces) – so they are distinct from normal paragraph indentations. Also note the manner of citing the source here.

The roman numerals for Act and Scene are standard, although one sees Arabic used by some critics. In quoting shorter passages in linear form, you still need to indicate line breaks when Shakespeare is writing in verse: Othello recalls, "Upon this hint I spake: / She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd, / And I lov'd her that she did pity them" (Othello I.iii.166-168). Note the withholding of final punctuation in this case until after the parenthetical citation. The slash marks indicate line breaks in the verse.

Notice that you do not need to put Shakespeare’s name down in this. Once you have established that Shakespeare is the only author whose primary source you are citing, the name and play can be dropped. If you were citing more than one play the title would be needed as I did for the above Othello quote.

When quoting other commentators and critics, offer parenthetical citations (just author and page) not only for direct quotations, but also for summarized and paraphrased material from sources. For example, the songs at the end of Love's Labour's Lost can be seen as thematically integral to the play (Goddard 54). Note proper punctuation in citing (no comma, no pg., no pgs, nothing but a space between author and page!). Note also proper punctuation in quoting directly: Antony's "modifications of Brutus's formulaic oratory are the first hint that he knows his business" (Macrone 45). Interested readers can then easily retrieve full bibliographic information by referring to your alphabetized list of works at the end of the paper.

Most of the above came from this source:

Delahoyde, Michael. “Shakespeare in MLA Format” Michael Delahoyde's Home Page.

12 Mar. 2008 <http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/mla.html>

The Actual Works Cited Page (always double space):

Your Primary text:

The play

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Sussane Wofford. Boston: Bedford, 1994.

Secondary texts:

An article from our anthology:

Garber, Margorie. “Hamlet: Giving Up the Ghost” Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Ed.

Sussane Wofford. Boston: Bedford, 1994. 297-331.

Murfin, Ross. “What is Psychoanalytic Criticism?” Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Ed.

Sussane Wofford. Boston: Bedford, 1994. 241-251.

An article from Website (Sparknotes)

Cummings, Michael. “Plot Summary.” Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

A Study Guide. (2003) 12 Mar. 2008 <http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html>

Phillips, Brian. “Important Quotations Explained.” SparkNote on Hamlet. 12 Mar. 2008

<http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/>.

Studious 12

Works Cited