How do I cite a play in MLA style 8th edition?

Answered By: Kathryn Park

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2023 Views: 371423

Since you are citing from a published copy of the play, you'd cite it basically like a book. This is an example from MLA Style Center:

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.

Your in text citation is always derived from your works cited entry, so an in text example would be:

"your quote" (Miller 45)

Please note that MLA also states that performance of a play is cited differently. Here is the example that they give for a performance:

“Ramona’s Umbrella.” By Alex Marino, directed by Jeannine Overstreet, performance

by Tania Milena, Tiny Plays Production Company, 15 Aug. 2017, Second

Street Theater, Sacramento, CA.

Thanks, this was very helpful, but I just commented to say:
I READ THE SAME BOOK (Death Of A Salesman)

by Woods on Jun 04, 2018
MLA does not put a comma between the author and page number.

by Christina on Apr 23, 2019
Quite right Christina! The answer was written for a previous version of MLA, but we have updated to reflect the new standard--without comma for the in text citation. Thanks for catching that!

by Kathryn Park on Apr 24, 2019