When introducing quotations from a literary work, make sure that you don’t confuse the author with the narrator of a story, the speaker of a poem, or a character in a story or play. Instead of naming the author, you can refer to the narrator or speaker—or to the work itself.
inappropriate
Poet Andrew Marvell describes his fear of death like this: “But at my back I always hear / Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near” (21-22).
appropriate
Addressing his beloved in an attempt to win her sexual favors, the speaker of the poem argues that death gives them no time to waste: “But at my back I always hear / Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near” (21-22).
appropriate
The poem “To His Coy Mistress” says as much about fleeting time and death as it does about sexual passion. Its most powerful lines are “But at my back I always hear / Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near” (21-22).
In the last example, you could mention the author as well: Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress” says as much. . . . Although the author is mentioned, readers will not confuse him with the speaker of the poem.