cite

Represents the title of a creative work (book, song, film, etc.).

Description

The <cite> element represents the title of a creative work such as a book, paper, essay, poem, score, song, script, film, TV show, game, sculpture, painting, theatre production, play, opera, musical, exhibition, legal case report, computer program, website, web page, blog post, or comment.

The element should only contain the title of the work, not the author's name (though you can include the author nearby).

Basic Example

My favorite book is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

<p>My favorite book is <cite>The Great Gatsby</cite> by F. Scott Fitzgerald.</p>

With Blockquote

A common pattern is using <cite> with blockquotes to attribute the source:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

— Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
<figure> <blockquote> <p>It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.</p> </blockquote> <figcaption>— Charles Dickens, <cite>A Tale of Two Cities</cite></figcaption> </figure>

Multiple Citations

Classic works like Pride and Prejudice, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird continue to influence modern literature.

<p> Classic works like <cite>Pride and Prejudice</cite>, <cite>1984</cite>, and <cite>To Kill a Mockingbird</cite> continue to influence modern literature. </p>

Attributes

This element supports global attributes.

Accessibility

The <cite> element has no special accessibility role. Screen readers will typically render the text in italics visually but may not announce it differently. The semantic meaning helps search engines and other tools understand that the text is a title.

Related Elements

  • <blockquote> - For longer quotations
  • <q> - For inline quotations
  • <figure> - For self-contained content with optional caption