Q. How do I cite a play in MLA style?

Citing Plays

For your Works Cited page, when citing a play from a book you'll need to include both the book publication information and the play information. The examples below are for a print book. If the book is an eBook, it will also require the location of the eBook, generally the database provider and URL.  

Structure

Play author. "Play Title." Title of book, author(s) or editor(s), publisher, year of publication, page number(s).

Example

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Riverside Shakespeare, edited by G. Blakemore Evans et al., vol. 2, Houghton Mifflin, 1974, pp. 1307-42.

Get More from MLA Handbook Plus

Great news! COM students can access the MLA Handbook Online, from the experts that wrote the rules! 

It provides sample papers and examples that you may be uncertain about, like if there is no author or more than one author. You can go straight to the play examples or see more citation examples. 

The MLA Handbook Online can be accessed on or off campus 24/7. Just login with your COM account. 

For more basic MLA information you can try Cite MLA Style. 

Want more? 

Go to the Cite MLA Style guide which includes formatting instructions, how to grab citations from our databases with screen shots, and a direct link to the MLA Handbook Online, from the experts that wrote the rules!

It provides sample papers and examples that you may be uncertain about, like if there is no author or more than one author. You can go straight to the citation examples. The MLA Handbook Online can be accessed on or off campus 24/7. Just login with your COM account.