Question

Which of the underlined titles in the following sentence should be enclosed in quotation marks? Our textbook, English Literature, includes Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet and Edgar Allen Poe’s poem The Raven. (1 point) Responses English Literature English Literature Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet The Raven The Raven

Answer 1

According to the guidelines of the MLA (Modern Language Association), the titles of full-length works such as books, and periodicals should be italicized, whereas the titles of shorter works such as poems, articles, book chapters, and plays should be placed in quotation marks.

In your sentence, "English Literature" is presumably the name of the textbook, which is a full-length work, and thus it should be italicized rather than enclosed in quotation marks. The titles of the play "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare and the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe are shorter works, so those titles should be enclosed in quotation marks. Here's the corrected sentence with the appropriate formatting applied:

Our textbook, English Literature, includes Shakespeare’s play "Romeo and Juliet" and Edgar Allan Poe’s poem "The Raven."

So the titles that should be enclosed in quotation marks are:

- "Romeo and Juliet"
- "The Raven"