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   danylyshen Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   If you're using the Modern Language Association's guide to formatting and writing papers, then no, you must include the act/scene/line numbers for whenever Hamlet speaks. You formally indicate this using quotation marks and then (3.2.32-4) for example, when citing the quote. "Who's there?" (1.1.1) is the first line of the play and sets the tone for the entire play (as an example).

   If you're using more than one Shakespearean play, however, then you must indicate the play you're talking about in your text or in the bracket with the act, scene, line number in it. There's little tricks you can use to avoid all the quoting, however. You can use paraphrases or make your writing just use single words or phrases from the play. If you're quoting multiple lines of a soliloquy, for example, you'll need to set off the quotation and block it by arranging it an extra inch from your original margin.Search MLA style for citation tips and tricks. There's a whole bunch of good stuff around.

   Sources:

   http://www.mla.org/style

   http://www.thewritesource.com/mla/

   http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/mla.html

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   Posted by danylyshen on Tuesday March 24, 2009 at 7:02 AM