To cite a poem properly, the format depends on the citation style you are using. Here are guidelines for citing a poem in MLA, APA, and Harvard styles, including how to quote poetry in your text.
MLA Style
Works Cited entry:
-
Format:
Poet's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." Title of Book , edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition (if not first), Publisher, Year, pp. page range. -
Example:
Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." An Introduction to American Poetry , edited by Lisa Swank, Viking Press, 2015, pp. 48-49.
In-text citation and quoting:
-
For a single line or part of a line, use quotation marks and include the poet's last name and line number(s) if available:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (Frost 1). -
For 2–3 lines, use slashes to indicate line breaks with spaces before and after the slash:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood / And sorry I could not travel both" (Frost 1-2). -
For 4 or more lines, format as a block quote indented half an inch, no quotation marks, preserving line breaks:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could (Frost 1-4).
APA Style
Reference entry:
-
Format:
Poet's Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of poem. In Editor Initial Last Name (Ed.), Book title (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. -
Example:
Frost, R. (2015). The road not taken. In L. Swank (Ed.), An introduction to American poetry (pp. 48-49). Viking Press.
In-text citation:
Include poet's last name and year, and line numbers if available: (Frost,
2015, lines 1-4)
Harvard Style
Reference entry:
-
Format:
Poet Last Name, First Initial. (Year) ‘Poem title’, in Editor Initial Last Name (ed.) Book title. Location: Publisher, pp. xx-xx. -
Example:
Frost, R. (2015) ‘The road not taken’, in L. Swank (ed.) An introduction to American poetry. New York: Viking Press, pp. 48-49.
Additional Notes
- When quoting poetry, preserve original line breaks and punctuation.
- If quoting multiple lines, use block quotes for more than three lines in MLA.
- Include line numbers in in-text citations if available, as poems often are referenced by line rather than page number.
- For poems found online, include the URL and access date if required by the style guide.
These guidelines ensure proper credit and allow readers to locate the original poem source
