100+ MLA Quote Citation Examples: How to Cite a Quote from a Book (Easy Guide)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 5).

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Tolstoy 1).

“Call me Ishmael” (Melville 3).

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1).

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me” (Brontë 22).

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 180).

“It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3).

“The creature was made, not born” (Shelley 56).

“He was so terrible in his anger that the others drew back” (Golding 91).

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it” (Wilde 45).

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” (Whitman 78).

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on” (Frost 102).

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— / I took the one less traveled by” (Frost 18–19).

“Because I could not stop for Death— / He kindly stopped for me” (Dickinson 1–2).

“Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day” (Thomas 1–2).

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (Shakespeare 1–2).

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” (Eliot 50).

“Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul” (Dickinson 1–2).

“Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night” (Blake 1–2).

“My love is like a red, red rose / That’s newly sprung in June” (Burns 1–2).

“Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge 121–122).

“Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you / As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend” (Donne 1–2).

“I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high o'er vales and hills” (Wordsworth 1–2).

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” (Keats 49–50).

“‘What’s in a name?’ she said. ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’” (Shakespeare 2.2.43–44).

“‘You can’t repeat the past,’ Gatsby cried. ‘Why of course you can!’” (Fitzgerald 110).

“‘I’m frightened,’ she whispered. ‘Of everything’” (Plath 87).

“‘We are all fools in love,’ he replied with a smile” (Austen 234).

“‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,’ she said” (Angelou 102).

“‘He’s not just a statistic,’ she argued. ‘He’s my brother’” (Hurston 65).

“‘You’ve been in Afghanistan, I perceive,’ he stated coolly” (Doyle 5).

“‘I am not afraid,’ she declared. ‘I was born for this’” (Stoker 120).

“‘Time is an illusion,’ he muttered. ‘Lunchtime doubly so’” (Adams 42).

“‘We’re going to win,’ he said. ‘Not because we’re good, but because we refuse to lose’” (Orwell 198).

“‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,’ she read aloud” (Shakespeare 116.2–3).

“‘The world is too much with us,’ he sighed. ‘Late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers’” (Wordsworth 1–2).

According to Smith, societal progress often stems from collective dissatisfaction with the status quo (45).

Johnson argues that technological advancement does not always equate to human betterment (78).

As Lee explains, emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in leadership effectiveness (102).

Brown emphasizes that vulnerability is not weakness but a foundation for connection (33).

Davis suggests that historical memory shapes national identity more than factual accuracy (56).

Wilson notes that urban design influences social behavior in subtle but powerful ways (89).

Taylor observes that modern education systems often prioritize compliance over creativity (112).

Miller contends that economic inequality undermines democratic institutions (67).

Clark highlights how language shapes perception and thought patterns (29).

Adams asserts that sustainability requires systemic change, not individual guilt (134).

Nguyen explains that cultural assimilation often comes at the cost of personal identity (77).

Harris demonstrates that early childhood experiences significantly impact adult decision-making (41).

In her reflection on identity, Morrison writes:

“Race is the classification system that was imposed upon us, but identity is what we define for ourselves. No government, no law, no border can dictate the soul’s allegiance” (Morrison 73).

Thoreau contemplates simplicity:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoreau 83).

Orwell critiques totalitarianism:

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command” (Orwell 217).

Douglass describes the dehumanizing effects of slavery:

“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (Douglass 54).

Woolf reflects on women and fiction:

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Woolf 4).

King defends civil disobedience:

“An unjust law is no law at all,” he writes. “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (King 89).

Freire discusses critical pedagogy:

“Education either functions as an instrument of liberation or oppression,” he argues. “There is no neutral education” (Freire 34).

Said examines cultural imperialism:

“The Orient was almost a European invention,” he states. “An idea that has helped to define Europe’s identity in contrast” (Said 1).

Fanon analyzes colonial psychology:

“The colonized subject is fixed in place,” Fanon explains. “He or she is not allowed to evolve, only to serve” (Fanon 42).

“Collaborative innovation drives sustainable change” (Smith and Lee 123).

“The intersection of race, class, and gender shapes lived experience” (Crenshaw et al. 88).

“Digital literacy is now as fundamental as reading and writing” (Garcia and Patel 55).

“Urban green spaces improve mental health outcomes” (Nguyen and Kim 102).

“Early intervention reduces long-term educational disparities” (Adams, Brown, and Clark 76).

“Social media algorithms amplify polarization” (Wilson et al. 134).

“Mindfulness practices enhance emotional regulation” (Taylor and Morgan 91).

“Renewable energy adoption depends on policy incentives” (Reed and Zhao 115).

“Children learn empathy through modeled behavior” (Harris and Diaz 67).

“Historical narratives are shaped by who controls the archives” (Davis, Miller, and Turner 203).

“Language evolves fastest in multilingual communities” (Chen and Alvarez 44).

“Trust is the foundation of effective teamwork” (Roberts and Singh 78).

“Memory is not a storage unit but a reconstruction” (Johnson, qtd. in Carter 145).

“Architectural space influences social interaction” (Lee, in Martinez, ed., 89).

“Digital archives preserve marginalized voices” (Nguyen, in Thompson, ed., 102).

“Postcolonial literature reclaims narrative authority” (Adeyemi, in Okafor, ed., 56).

“Gender performance is culturally constructed” (Butler, cited in Reed, 123).

“Climate migration will reshape global demographics” (Kim, in Park, ed., 177).

“AI ethics must center human dignity” (Zhou, in Liu, ed., 94).

“Public art fosters community belonging” (Gomez, in Silva, ed., 65).

“Food sovereignty empowers indigenous communities” (Littlebear, in Whitecloud, ed., 111).

“Algorithmic bias reflects societal inequalities” (Patel, in Gupta, ed., 133).

“Trauma-informed care improves patient outcomes” (Moore, in Brooks, ed., 77).

“Multilingual education enhances cognitive flexibility” (Fernandez, in Ruiz, ed., 44).

Einstein reportedly said that imagination is more important than knowledge (qtd. in Smith 204).

Darwin theorized that natural selection drives evolution (cited in Jones 88).

Freud believed unconscious desires shape behavior (quoted in Taylor 112).

Marx argued that class struggle defines history (cited in Harris 67).

Pavlov demonstrated conditioned reflexes in dogs (qtd. in Miller 33).

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat as an act of resistance (cited in Lewis 91).

Gandhi promoted nonviolent resistance to oppression (quoted in Patel 102).

Curie discovered radium through persistent experimentation (cited in Wilson 45).

Turing proposed that machines could think (qtd. in Adams 134).

Nightingale revolutionized nursing through sanitation (cited in Clarke 78).

Lincoln affirmed that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish (qtd. in Davis 201).

Einstein emphasized the importance of curiosity in science (cited in Young 155).

“Truth is stranger than fiction” (Twain).

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions” (Einstein).

“The unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates).

“To be or not to be, that is the question” (Shakespeare).

“Knowledge is power” (Bacon).

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs).

“I think, therefore I am” (Descartes).

“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau).

“God is dead” (Nietzsche).

“The medium is the message” (McLuhan).

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” (Orwell).

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell).

“Everything happens for a reason,” he insisted (Camus, trans. Ward 45).

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer” (Camus, trans. O’Brien 78).

“Existence precedes essence” (Sartre, trans. Barnes 23).

“Hell is other people” (Sartre, trans. Frechtman 98).

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts” (Marcus Aurelius, trans. Hammond 12).

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one” (Aurelius, trans. Hays 45).

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies” (Aristotle, trans. Bovie 67).

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” (Aristotle, trans. Lefkowitz 33).

“Fear follows error” (Goethe, trans. Middleton 102).

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it” (Goethe, trans. Boyle 111).

“The true path goes through a field of thorns” (Kafka, trans. Corngold 55).

“You do not become good by being better than others, but by being better than yourself” (Dostoevsky, trans. Pevear 89).