The document provides guidance on how to properly cite and analyze a passage from a play in an essay. It recommends italicizing or underlining the play's title, identifying the author, introducing and quoting the selected passage using quotation marks, citing the page number in parentheses, briefly explaining the context, and expanding on the analysis by relating the passage to the essay's central claim. It also provides a sample paragraph that follows these guidelines by analyzing a key moment from A Doll House involving the motif of the mailbox.

1. Citing a Play (as in A Doll House ) 

8. E xplain the context (what was going on during the selected passage) in one or two sentences. Nora’s begging is a desperate attempt to prevent Torvald from checking the mail before the costume party.