diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/splitter.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/splitter.py
index d633c2e289b..849c0714c70 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/splitter.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/splitter.py
@@ -101,15 +101,22 @@ def split_args(args):
         # inside quotation characters
         tokens = item.split('\n')
 
+        line_continuation = False
         for idx,token in enumerate(tokens):
 
-            # if we're at the end of the enumeration, the character separator
-            # used when reassembling quoted bits should be a space, otherwise
-            # it will be a newline character
+            # if there was a newline split, we will re-assemble using
+            # newlines, otherwise we re-assemble using spaces
             spacer = ' '
             if idx > 0:
                 spacer = '\n'
 
+            # if we hit a line continuation character, but
+            # we're not inside quotes, ignore it and continue
+            # on to the next token while setting a flag
+            if token == '\\' and not inside_quotes:
+                line_continuation = True
+                continue
+
             # store the previous quoting state for checking later
             was_inside_quotes = inside_quotes
             quote_char = _get_quote_state(token, quote_char)
@@ -155,7 +162,19 @@ def split_args(args):
             # finally, if we're at zero depth for all blocks and not inside quotes, and have not
             # yet appended anything to the list of params, we do so now
             if not (print_depth or block_depth or comment_depth) and not inside_quotes and not appended and token != '':
-                params.append(token)
+                # if the spacer was a newline, prepend this param
+                # with it so that newlines are preserved, unless
+                # we previously hit a line continuation character
+                if spacer == '\n':
+                    if line_continuation:
+                        params.append(token)
+                    else:
+                        params.append('\n%s' % token)
+                else:
+                    params.append(token)
+
+            # always clear the line continuation flag
+            line_continuation = False
 
     # If we're done and things are not at zero depth or we're still inside quotes,
     # raise an error to indicate that the args were unbalanced
@@ -165,6 +184,7 @@ def split_args(args):
     # finally, we decode each param back to the unicode it was in the arg string
     if do_decode:
         params = [x.decode('utf-8') for x in params]
+
     return params
 
 def unquote(data):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
index bb5de5ef35b..7062242d93e 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ def parse_kv(args):
         for x in vargs:
             if "=" in x:
                 k, v = x.split("=",1)
-                options[k] = unquote(v.strip())
+                options[k.strip()] = unquote(v.strip())
     return options
 
 def merge_hash(a, b):
diff --git a/test/integration/roles/test_command_shell/tasks/main.yml b/test/integration/roles/test_command_shell/tasks/main.yml
index db6f14084ef..0ec50193625 100644
--- a/test/integration/roles/test_command_shell/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/test/integration/roles/test_command_shell/tasks/main.yml
@@ -170,14 +170,17 @@
       - "shell_result4.changed == False"
 
 - name: execute a shell command using a literal multiline block
+  args:
+    executable: /bin/bash
   shell: |
     echo this is a
     "multiline echo"
     "with a new line
-    in quotes"
-    | md5sum
-    | tr -s ' '
+    in quotes" \
+    | md5sum \
+    | tr -s ' ' \
     | cut -f1 -d ' '
+    echo "this is a second line"
   register: shell_result5
 
 - debug: var=shell_result5
@@ -186,5 +189,5 @@
   assert:
     that:
       - "shell_result5.changed"
-      - "shell_result5.stdout == '32f3cc201b69ed8afa3902b80f554ca8'"
+      - "shell_result5.stdout == '32f3cc201b69ed8afa3902b80f554ca8\nthis is a second line'"
 
diff --git a/test/units/TestUtils.py b/test/units/TestUtils.py
index b091603626c..49284c52938 100644
--- a/test/units/TestUtils.py
+++ b/test/units/TestUtils.py
@@ -705,9 +705,9 @@ class TestUtils(unittest.TestCase):
         # jinja2 loop blocks with lots of complexity
         _test_combo(
             # in memory of neighbors cat
-            # we only preserve newlines inside of quotes
-            'a {% if x %} y {%else %} {{meow}} {% endif %} "cookie\nchip"\ndone',
-            ['a', '{% if x %}', 'y', '{%else %}', '{{meow}}', '{% endif %}', '"cookie\nchip"', 'done']
+            # we preserve line breaks unless a line continuation character preceeds them
+            'a {% if x %} y {%else %} {{meow}} {% endif %} "cookie\nchip" \\\ndone\nand done',
+            ['a', '{% if x %}', 'y', '{%else %}', '{{meow}}', '{% endif %}', '"cookie\nchip"', 'done', '\nand', 'done']
         )
 
         # test space preservation within quotes