How to Quote a Poem in an Essay

Why should quoting always be so tricky? Can academics decide on one way to quote something and not invent exceptions for every single case? Apparently, they cannot! There are many quoting types in academic writing and strict rules for quoting everything in every case–and often, those rules just don’t make any sense. However, students must follow formatting guidelines in order to write great papers and receive excellent grades, so let’s explore how writing a poem differs from quoting, for example, a song title. 

How to Cite a Poem

How do you cite a poem in your college essay? We want to say that it is simple, easy to understand, and similar in all academic formats, but this statement is false. First, check and recheck the designated academic format for your essay because there are significant differences between various style guidelines. Next, there is a difference between citing two-line, four-line, or five-line poems. 

How to Cite a Poem in MLA Format

There are major differences in citing single-line, two-line, or more extended poem quotes. Let’s explore all the tricks and nuances for properly citing poems in MLA, which is probably the most popular and relevant academic style guide. 

📌 Short Quotes Should Be Encased in Quotation Marks

Put the poetry in quotation marks if you wish to use less than forty words in your essay. The quote can be set off without the requirement to start a new line. 

Example: Frost reflects on life’s choices when he writes, “I doubted if I should ever come back” (Frost 15)

📝 Set Line Breaks 

Make sure to indicate the line breaks if you cite more than one line of poetry in your essay. This is accomplished by inserting a forward slash (/) between every line.

Example: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (Shakespeare 1-2).

📚 For Longer Quotes, Use Block Quotations 

The correct format for quoting poems with more than 40 words is block quotations, which start on a new line and are indented 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) from the left margin. 

When using block quotes, avoid using quotation marks. Since the indentation indicates that it is a quote, they are unnecessary.

Consistent double spacing throughout the document is required. 

Example: Keats describes the beauty of the nightingale in a captivating way:

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown (61-64).

Proper In Text Citations 

And the last question remains: how to in text cite a poem? Students often need to casually mention a poem in body chapters without necessarily highlighting it in a different list. So, do you think in-text citations will be exactly the same or at least vaguely similar? Think again; there are more new formatting rules to learn here! 

How to Cite Poem in Text APA 

First, notate the page number, year, and author. Citations of poems should always be accompanied by in-text citations that direct readers to the appropriate item in the works referenced section. In this citation, the author’s last name, publication year, and page number (preceded by “p.”), where the quote may be found, should always be included.

Second, remember to reference indirect sources. Even if you don’t directly quote anything from a poem (or any other source), you should nonetheless cite it. When referencing a source, always use the same format for parenthetical citations. 

And finally, put titles in the correct format. Citations of poems or other works should be properly formatted, including capitalization and font. Please be aware that the works mentioned in the section and the main body of your essay have distinct formatting requirements. 

How to Cite a Poem in Text MLA

Poems cited using MLA style in-text citations are standard regardless of where they were found, in contrast to citations on the reference page. 

Just be sure to include the following for in-text citations:

• The surname of the poet
• You must provide the line or page numbers of the poetry that you are quoting. 

Instead of duplicating the author’s name in the in-text citation, you can just include the line numbers in parentheses if you mention the author within the sentence. Stop counting lines by hand if the poem does not have line numbers. Rather, you should include the page number. 

Why Proper Quoting Is So Significant? 

Proper academic quoting draws readers in and supports the content written by the author. Appropriate citations increase the credibility and authority of the study itself. For readers to feel secure knowing that the material they are reading is based on trustworthy, previously published research, authors should appropriately credit their sources and provide a bibliography in their works. Using the proper citations to credit any ideas or conclusions to their original authors correctly is crucial to avoiding plagiarism charges. Writers should include a well-structured bibliography so that readers may study the facts cited in the book in more detail.

Citations also influence the author’s work since they support the research. When appropriately used, citations may support an author’s arguments and demonstrate the legitimacy of their points of view. They serve as a double-check, enhancing the author’s reputation and guaranteeing the accuracy of their thoughts and research. Finally, readers can see how diligent and cautious the author’s effort has been by reviewing the lengthy bibliography, which is well appreciated.  

FAQ 

How to do a citation for a poem?

It depends on the academic format. In MLA, you must quote the poem’s name, indicate the number of lines, and use breaks (“\”) to divide lines. 

How to cite a poem in Harvard?

You should do it by using the following formula: Author surname, First initial. (Year of publication) ‘Title of the poem’, Website Name. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Do you quote poem titles?

Yes, you must quote every piece of another writer’s work to avoid plagiarism accusations and pay proper respect to your colleague’s studies. The poem titles are no exception. 

How do I quote from a poem?

One line of poetry should be quoted just like any other brief quotation. You may still type the lines in your text to run together even if the poem you are citing crosses numerous lines in the poem itself. Use slash marks to indicate to the reader where the line breaks in the poem occur.