Capitalizing quoted sentences

The first word of a quoted sentence should begin with a capital letter. If only a phrase is quoted, do not capitalize the first word.

Example sentence: In “Time” magazine Robert Hughes writes, “There are only about sixty Watteau paintings on whose authenticity all experts agree” (102).

Example sentence: Russell Baker has written that in our country, sports are “the opiate of the masses” (46).

If a quoted sentence is interrupted by explanatory words, do not capitalize the first word after the interruption.

Example sentence: “If you want to go out,” he said, “tell me now.”

When quoting poetry, copy the poet’s capitalization exactly. Many poets capitalize the first word of every line of poetry.

Example sentence: When I consider everything that grows [new line] Holds in perfection but a little moment [new line] – Shakespeare

A few contemporary poets dismiss capitalization (and spacing conventions) altogether.

Example sentence: it was the week that [new line] i felt the city's narrow breezes rush about [new line] me [new line] – Don L. Lee

Exercise: Capitalization

Related topic:

Punctuating quotations