QUOTATIONS IN LITERARY ANALYSIS
Your essays should reflect your thought and insight as it is supported by the author’s work. The
reader must clearly distinguish between your ideas and the author’s. Therefore, you must make
the distinction clear, but you must also constantly blend the materials in a way that will make your
sentences easy to follow.
QUOTATION INTEGRATION
Lead into the quote with an introductory phrase; the quote cannot stand alone! Quotations
need to be introduced. They should NOT be “floating” quotations. Quotations should never be
brought in unless you prepare your reader in some way.
Provide context for the quote in your lead-in. Who is speaking? To whom? Where is this
quote taking place? To what is the quote referring?
o Remember that the quoted material must blend smoothly:
 AVOID: Othello says that he “have done the state some service” (5.2.337).
 BETTER: Othello says that he “[has] done the state some service” (5.2.337).
 BEST: Othello says he has “done the state some service” (5.2.337).
o Whenever possible, avoid using brackets, and work the change into your own words.
o Introducing a quotation does not mean telling the reader where the quotation was found!
 AVOID: In Act II, Othello says, “Oh my fair warrior!” (2.1.179).
 CORRECT: Upon his arrival in Cypress, Othello says, “Oh my fair warrior!”
(2.1.179).
Remember narration is punctuated differently that dialogue. Narration uses “narration…”
Dialogue uses “ ‘dialogue…’ ” A combo would look like “narration… ‘dialogue’…”
o INCORRECT: After Scout’s terrible first day of school, Atticus tells her “you never
really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (30).
o CORRECT: After Scout’s terrible first day of school, Atticus tells her “ ‘you never
really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view’ ” (30).
If the quotation uses an indefinite pronoun (“that,” “this,” or “it”) as its subject, be sure
that your lead-in explains what “that,” “this,” or “it” is.

AVOID: Scout remembers that “it was a melancholy little drama, woven from
scraps of gossip and neighborhood legend” (39).

BETTER: Scout remembers that the play she, Jem, and Dill would enact
about the Radley family “was a melancholy little drama, woven from scraps
of gossip and neighborhood legend” (39).
If a quotation ending with a question mark or exclamation point concludes your
sentences and requires a parenthetical reference, retain the original punctuation within
the quote.
o Dorothea responds to her sister, “What a wonderful little almanac you are, Celia!” (7).
o In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, the doctor wonders, “how delineate the wretch whom with
such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” (42).
Always use ellipses ( . . . ) to signify that you have taken information out; Use brackets [ ]
to signify you have added something for clarification or changed a verb tense.
AVOID…
o An example of this is evident when…
o A confirmation of this occurs at the point where…
o Hamlet shows this when he says…
TECHNIQUES TO INTEGRATE QUOTES INTO YOUR PROSE:
Vary the technique you use to integrate and introduce quotations, otherwise your writing becomes
repetitive and monotonous.
Technique #1: So and so says or some other verb
o Example: When Claudius finally addresses Hamlet as his son, Hamlet notes, “….”
Technique #2: Introduce quotation with a colon
o In this situation, what precedes and follows the colon must be a complete sentence.
o Example: When Hamlet is finally left alone, he considers death: “Oh that this too too solid
flesh would melt, / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!” (1.2.135-137).
Technique #3: Use an ellipsis to omit words that would other make the integration of the
prose awkward.
o As long as you do not change the meaning of the passage, such omissions are perfectly
acceptable
o Ellipses can also be use to reduce a long quotation so that the most important parts are
emphasized.
o To use ellipses after a full sentence, put the period and then the three ellipses marks for a
total of four periods.
o Example: Hamlet feels he must corroborate the Ghost’s charge that Claudius is a
murderer: “The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil; and the devil hath power / T’
assume a pleasing shape. . . . I’ll have grounds / More relative than this” (2.2.606-608,
611-612).
o Note the parenthetical reference lists only those lines that are actually quoted; the ones
omitted with the ellipses are not listed in the parenthetical reference.
Technique #4: Break up the quotation into its most important pieces and weave these into
your prose.
o This is similar to the use of ellipses, but it is usually employed when a quotation would
contain several ellipses and/or only a few scattered words from a passage would need to
be emphasized.
o Example: Hamlet justifies his determination to corroborate the Ghost’s charge by noting
that the Ghost may in fact be “a devil” exploiting Hamlet’s “weakness” and “melancholy” in
an effort to “damn” him (2.2.607,609,611).
TYPES OF TRANSITIONS
To provide an alternative
or, nor, and, and then, moreover, besides
To Add
further, furthermore, likewise, also, too, again, in addition, even more
important, next, first, second, third,
in the first place, finally, last
To Compare
similarly, likewise, in like manner
To Contrast
but, yet, or, and yet, however, still, nevertheless,
on the other hand, on the contrary, conversely, even so,
in contrast, at the same time, although this may be true, otherwise,
nonetheless
To show purpose
to this end, for this purpose, in order to
To introduce a result or cause
so, for, therefore, accordingly, consequently, thus,
as a result, then, because, hence
To give an example
for example, for instance, to show, to see, to understand,
in the case of
To show time
meanwhile, at length, soon, after a few days,
in the meantime, afterward, later, now, then, in the past, while
"SHOWS" THESAURUS
The verb "shows" is not allowed in essays – convention points will be
deducted if you use it in your essay.
A thesaurus will give you many other words that are similar to
"shows."
However, not all synonyms mean exactly the same thing! Use this
thesaurus to make sure you are using the right substitute for
"shows."
If you mean PORTRAYS:
 Depicts
 Characterizes
 Displays
 Exhibits
 Defines
 Presents
If you mean REPRESENTS:
 Symbolizes
 Signifies
 Renders
 Indicates
 Serves
 Expresses
 Exemplifies
 Typifies
 Personifies
If you mean ILLUSTRATES:
 Demonstrate
 Reveals
If you mean EXPLAINS:
 Explicates
If you mean PROVES:
 Substantiates
 Supports
 Verifies
 Confirms
 Manifests
If you mean POSSESSES:
 Owns
 Maintains
 Holds
NOTE:
DO NOT use the word "withholds" as a synonym for shows—it doesn’t mean the same thing! Withhold means to keep
in check or restrain from giving. An example of “withholds” used incorrectly: Atticus withholds great emotion when he
tells the jury, “ ‘ In the name of God, do your duty’ “ (205). If we took this sentence literally, it would mean that
Atticus did not show any emotion when he said this.