Quoting correctly
If a quotation is longer than about forty words, you know
that you should leave a line and indent so that it stands out from the rest of
your paragraph. Avoid such lengthy quotations but if you do use one, this is the correct format.
For example:
Although he does not lose his mind, two issues relating to guilt appear
to take control of his actions. The first is that he is tormented by the
thought that Banquo and his descendants are the ones who will benefit from the
actions which now plague his conscience as seen in the following quotation.
“For Banquo’s issue
have I filed my mind;
For them the gracious
Duncan have I murdered;Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
Only for them and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings” (3,1,69-71).
For shorter quotations use the following guidelines:
In
general, avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves. Even if you have
provided some context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your
flow. Take a look at this example:
Hamlet
denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. “I
could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet
2.2).
Standing
by itself, the quote’s connection to the preceding sentence is unclear. There
are several ways to incorporate a quote more smoothly.
1)
Lead into the quote with a colon.
Hamlet
denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression: “I
could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet
2.2).
The colon
announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s
claim.
2)
Introduce or conclude the quote by attributing it to the speaker. If your
attribution precedes the quote, you will need to use a comma after the verb.
Hamlet
denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. He
states, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite
space” (Hamlet 2.2).
When faced
with a twelve-foot mountain troll, Ron gathers his courage, shouting, “Wingardium
Leviosa!” (Rowling, p. 176).
The Pirate
King sees an element of regality in their impoverished and dishonest life. “It
is, it is a glorious thing/To be a pirate king,” he declares (Pirates of
Penzance, 1983).
3)
Interrupt the quote with an attribution to the speaker. Again, you will need to
use a comma after the verb, as well as a comma leading into the attribution.
“There is
nothing either good or bad,” Hamlet argues, “but thinking makes it so” (Hamlet
2.2).“And death shall be no more,” Donne writes, “Death thou shalt die” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).
Dividing
the quote may highlight a particular nuance of the quote’s meaning. In the first
example, the division calls attention to the two parts of Hamlet’s claim. The
first phrase states that nothing is inherently good or bad; the second phrase
suggests that our perspective causes things to become good or bad. In the
second example, the isolation of “Death thou shalt die” at the end of
the sentence draws a reader’s attention to that phrase in particular. As you
decide whether or not you want to break up a quote, you should consider the
shift in emphasis that the division might create.
4)
Use the words of the quote grammatically within your own sentence. I have
advised you to do this only with very short quotations.
When
Hamlet tells Rosencrantz that he “could be bounded in a nutshell and count
[him]self a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2), he implies that
thwarted ambition did not cause his depression.
Ultimately,
death holds no power over Donne since in the afterlife, “death shall be no
more” (“Death, Be Not Proud,” l. 14).
Note that
when you use “that” after the verb that introduces the quote, you no longer
need a comma.
The Pirate
King argues that “it is, it is a glorious thing/to be a pirate king” (Pirates
of Penzance, 1983).
