I - Italic Text

The I element suggests that text be rendered as italic text. In most cases, use of a phrase element such as EM, DFN, VAR, or CITE is more appropriate since these elements express the meaning of the text more clearly.

The I element is a suitable choice for marking a structure for which no phrase element exists. For example, foreign phrases and taxonomic names have no structural element in HTML 4.0, but italic text is often an appropriate visual rendering:

<H1><I LANG=fr>Chacun son goût !</I></H1>
<P>Some people prefer dogs--<I CLASS=species>Canis familiaris</I>--while others are eternal lovers of cats--<I CLASS=species>Felis cattus</I>.

Note the use of the CLASS and LANG attributes to add structural significance to the I elements. This allows greater flexibility when applying style sheets to different kinds of italic text.

More Information

• I in W3C HTML 4.0 Recommendation
• I in W3C HTML 3.2 Recommendation
• I in HTML 2.0 Standard
• I in WDG HTML 3.2 Reference
• I in Learning HTML 3.2 by Examples

This document was modified from the Web Design Group's original work. The Web Design Group takes no responsibility for any errors introduced.