Incorporating Quotes in a Literary Analysis: The Basics
Common Problem
Writer just slaps a quote down in the middle of his/her analysis.
Example of Problem: In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane disagrees with Mr.
Rochester’s idea that a husband has the right to control his wife, and she asserts her
freedom to be an independent married woman. “I am a free human being with an
independent will.”
Comment [S1]: NO Transition to quote.
Explanation of Problem: In the sentences above, a quote has been dropped in after the
writer’s original idea like a paratrooper falling from the sky out of nowhere. Just as a
person on the ground would have no idea where the paratrooper came from, the reader
does not know who said the quote: “I am a free human being with an independent will.”
As a result, the reader does not make a connection between the original idea stated in
the first sentence and the “dropped” quote in the second sentence. As the writer of
your paper, it is your job to tell the reader who said (or wrote) the quote you’ve
incorporated. This is where a signal phrase will help you out.
Correct Method #1
Put a tag before the quote at the start of the new sentence.
Example: In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane disagrees with Mr. Rochester’s
idea that a husband has the right to control his wife, and she asserts her freedom to be
an independent married woman. Jane declares, “I am a free human being with an
independent will.”
Comment [S2]: A tag is added to explain who is
speaking the quote.
Correct Method #2
Use a participle tag before the quote to connect it to the preceding sentence.
Example: In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane disagrees with Mr. Rochester’s
idea that a husband has the right to control his wife, and she asserts her freedom to be
an independent married woman, declaring, “I am a free human being with an
independent will.”
Comment [S3]: An “ing” participle is added
using a comma to indicate a quote is coming.
Correct Method #3
Weave the quote smoothly into the middle of a sentence, so that you couldn’t even tell a quote
was there without looking at the paper.
Example: In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane disagrees with Mr. Rochester’s
idea that a husband has the right to control his wife. Jane asserts that she is a “free
human being with an independent will” who should not be controlled by anyone, not
even her husband.
Comment [S4]: Quote is blended smoothly into
the sentence, so no one would notice without
looking at the paper. The first person "I" has been
eliminated by starting the quote in the main
content.
Incorporating Quotes in a Literary Analysis: FAQs
FAQ #1: What if my quotes will not blend smoothly into the writing because of POV or
Subject/Verb Agreement or Verb Tense?
If you need to change a word in the quote like “I” to “she”, just delete the original word and
insert the word you need inside square brackets ([]).
Example – Original Quote: “He gave a great start of fright. A colossal formless
something was rushing across the field of his vision. It was a tree shadow flung
by the moon, from whose face the clouds had been brushed away.” – White
Fang (115)
Example – Modified Quote: White Fang shows his naïve nature once again
“[giving] a great start of fright [at] a colossal formless something [rushing] across
the field of his vision. [A Tree] shadow flung by the moon, from whose face the
clouds had been brushed away.”
FAQ #2: What if I want to leave out the middle part of a longer quote?
Use the ellipsis symbol (…) if you want to leave out the middle part of a quote. Just make sure
that what you leave out does not impact the overall meaning of the quote or it would be
unethical as a misrepresentation of what the author meant.
Comment [S5]: The brackets show a change of
verb tense from the original quote to make the
quote fit smoothly into the writing.
Comment [S6]: The brackets show the addition
of the word “at” to combine two sentences from
the original quote to make the quote fit smoothly
into the writing.
Comment [S7]: The brackets show a change
from the original quote at the beginning of this
sentence. The words “It was” have been deleted.
Example – Original Quote: "The aim of life was meat. Life itself was meat. Life
lived on life. There were the eaters and the eaten. The law was: EAT OR BE
EATEN. He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralize about it. He
did not even think the law; he merely lived the law without thinking about it at
all." – White Fang (115)
Example – Modified Quote: Through tragedy, White Fang matured almost
instantaneously, realizing, "[t]he aim of life was meat. Life itself was meat … The
law was: EAT OR BE EATEN … [and] he merely lived the law without thinking
about it at all."
FAQ #3: How do I know when to quote or when to paraphrase for support?
Generally, if you are trying to support a literary/rhetorical device, especially one related to use
of specific language like imagery or tone/mood, you need to quote examples. When supporting
larger concepts that encompass a whole work like Narrative Perspective or Archetype, it is
usually ok to summarize/paraphrase larger sections that demonstrate the necessary
characteristics.
FAQ #4: How do I put a quote in my writing for evidence?
Refer to the front side of this page entitled Incorporating Quotes in a Literary Analysis: The
Basics, which will guide you through the options for blending quotes in. The key is that you
must blend the quote naturally into your writing. You can NEVER drop a quote in or introduce
one with phrases like “This quote shows…” or “The following quote demonstrates…”
Comment [S8]: The ellipsis sign (…) is used to
show long phrases or sentences left out of the
original quote.
Comment [S9]: The ellipsis sign (…) is used to
show long phrases or sentences left out of the
original quote.