Cite plays and poems correctly

You might need to refer to plays and poetry in information about events, in digital content and in other publications.

References to plays and poetry must be accurate and complete so that they:

• provide all the information someone needs to identify the work properly
• comply with copyright laws.

Examples of in-text citations and reference lists on this page follow the author–date system, as this is the most common way of citing plays and poetry in government content. If your organisation uses the documentary–note system, change the citation and reference list styles accordingly.

Reference play titles and quotes from plays

Style for play titles follows the same convention as for books but is based on details about the published edition. Quoted material from plays has distinct punctuation and formatting.

Use italics and sentence case for titles of plays

Write titles of plays in italics and use sentence case. This means the first word and any proper nouns have an initial capital letter.

Use a forward slash to show line breaks in plays

When you quote lines spoken by a character in a play, use a forward slash to show line breaks appearing in the original. Insert spaces around the forward slash. If there's a line break in your text, it can occur before or after the slash.

Don’t use quotation marks in scripts of plays

In plays, you don’t need quotation marks if the direct speech follows the name of the speaker.

Use divisions for in-text citations of plays

Citations to plays are more helpful if you use divisions – acts, scenes and lines. Readers who wish to read the quote in context can use the divisions to find it in any edition of the play.

Use the full name of the playwright, unless people can identify the playwright by the surname. Use roman type (not italics), lower case and numerals for divisions.

Ancient and medieval dramatic works have specific citation rules: refer to classics.

Include plays if you’re using a reference list

In government content, you don’t need to create a reference list just to cite plays. If you have a reference list already, then add plays to your list. You can also add reviews of plays to the list.

Citing plays

Use the edition of the play you cited. If the play was written well before the edition, place the original date in parentheses with the edition’s publishing date.

Rule: Author A (Year of Original Publication/Year of Edition) Title of play: subtitle of play, Name of Publisher of Edition, Place of Publication.

Use the author–date system for in-text citations in documents with a reference list. Include a page number after a colon if you’re citing a specific page. Use the original and edition dates if citing an old work.

Citing reviews of plays

Follow the rules of citation for the source (for example, a newspaper) that published the review. Use italics for the title of the play.

Rule: Reviewer R (Day Month Year) ‘Title of review: subtitle of review’ [Review of Title of work by Creator], Name of Blog, Newspaper or Magazine, accessed Day Month Year.

Reference poem titles and parts of poems

Style for references to poem titles depends on how the poem was published. Refer to parts of poems using the right kind of punctuation. 

Use quotation marks for titles of poems

Enclose titles of poems in quotation marks. If the title is part of a quotation, enclose it in double quotation marks.

Italicise titles of poems published as books

Poems can be published as a freestanding work in book form. In this case, follow the citation rules for books. Use italics for the poem’s title.

This means you italicise the titles of verse novels as you do for prose novels.

Capitalise and punctuate the title of a poem as the author does

A poem’s title is part of its artistic integrity. Apply the author’s own style for capitalisation and punctuation. If the title is all lower case or all upper case, follow suit.

If you’re unsure of the author’s style, write the titles of poems using sentence case. Sentence case can usually replace title case (maximal capitalisation), which is often a publishing style rather than an artistic choice.

Italicise titles of filmpoems

Filmpoems are a combination of images and poetry (spoken or written) watched on a screen. Filmpoems also include people reciting poetry onscreen. Sometimes filmpoems have other names, such as ‘poetryfilms’, ‘videopoems’ or ‘screen poetry’.

Italicise titles of filmpoems and use the original capitalisation and punctuation.

Use the first lines of untitled, published poems

Some poems do not have titles. They often become known by their first line and are usually cited that way. Even if the poem isn’t well known, use the first line as a title for untitled poems. The aim is to give readers enough information to find the poem.

Use quotation marks as you would for other titles. Capitalise the line as it appears in the poem.

Describe untitled, unpublished spoken word poems

The nature of spoken word and performance poetry means the text often isn’t published. Give people enough information to appreciate and identify the poem. It’s possible a performance was recorded. To help people find it online, name the poet and the event, or quote some of the poet’s words.

Use italics for titles of anthologies and other collections

If a poem is part of a published collection, italicise the title of the collection and use sentence case. Use quotation marks for the poems in the collection.

Use a forward slash to show line breaks in poems

Separate lines of poetry in a sentence with a forward slash. Insert spaces around the forward slash. If there's a line break in your text, it can occur before or after the slash.

Use in-text citations for quotations from poems

In government writing, mentioning the poet and the title of the poem is usually enough.

Always cite quotations in text. Follow the quotation with the poet’s name in roman type and the title of the poem in quotation marks. Use the poet’s full name, unless people can identify the poet by the surname alone.

Use divisions if they are available

Use lower case and numerals for divisions.

Divisions are cantos, verses, stanzas and lines marked and numbered on the text of some longer, older poems. Divisions are the same for all editions of these poems. This means that people who want to read a quotation in context can use divisions to find the quotation in any edition.

If a poem does not have divisions, use a reputable online version and hyperlink the poem’s title. Users can then search to find the cited lines on the webpage.

For subsequent citations, you can use just use the division numbers, without the words ‘part’, ‘verse’ or ‘lines’.

Hyperlinked citations are an option for digital content.

Include poems if you’re using a reference list

You don’t need to create a separate reference list to cite poems, but if you have a reference list already, then add poems to your list.

Use the edition of the poem you cited. If the poem was written well before the edition, place the original date in parentheses with the edition’s publishing date.

Rule: Author A (Year of Original Publication/Year of Edition) ‘Title of poem: subtitle of poem’, Name of collection, Name of Publisher of Edition, Place of Publication.

As in text, use the original capitalisation of the poem in the reference list entry.

Use the author–date system for in-text citations in documents with a reference list. Include a page number after a colon if you’re citing a specific page. Use the original and edition dates if citing an old work.

Cite Shakespeare’s poetry correctly

William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and other poetry. Sometimes people cite the songs from Shakespearean plays as verse.

Each sonnet has a number (not a title). The number is a division number that remains the same across editions. To cite the sonnets use either:

• Sonnet X
• the first line in quotation marks, as for other untitled poems.

Use italics for Venus and Adonis and The rape of Lucrece. They are available as freestanding publications.

Use quotation marks for Shakespeare’s other poetic works.

Treat nursery rhymes, fairy tales and fables like books

If a nursery rhyme, fairy tale or fable is published individually as a book or dramatic work, use italics for the title.

If they are part of a collection, use italics for the collection but quotation marks for individual works. Treat individual works as you would a chapter in a book.

Use sentence case.

For direct quotes, include the author and date, if known. If the date isn’t known, use the title. Use ‘Anon’ if the author is unknown.