Citing poetry correctly is crucial for academic integrity, allowing your readers to locate the original source and giving proper credit to the poet. While the core information needed for a citation remains consistent across styles—author, poem title, publication source—the formatting rules vary significantly. This guide will walk you through the essential steps for citing poems in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles, providing clear examples for common scenarios.
Why Citing Poems Matters
Poetry, like any other source, contributes to your argument or understanding. Proper citation:
- Avoids plagiarism: Acknowledges the original author's intellectual property.
- Builds credibility: Shows you've done your research and respect scholarly conventions.
- Enables verification: Allows readers to find the original source to verify your claims or explore the poem further.
General Principles for Citing Poems
Regardless of the citation style, you'll generally need the following pieces of information for a poem:
- Author's Name: The poet.
- Title of the Poem: In quotation marks.
- Title of the Collection/Anthology: If the poem is part of a larger work (italicized).
- Editor(s): If the collection has editors.
- Publisher: The company that published the work.
- Year of Publication: The year the specific edition you used was published.
- Page Number(s): Where the poem appears in the print source.
- Website Name and URL: If accessed online.
- Access Date: For online sources, especially those that might change.
Citing a Poem in MLA Style (9th Edition)
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is commonly used in the humanities, especially literature and language studies.
In-Text Citations for Poems (MLA)
For in-text citations, you'll typically use the author's last name and the page number or line number(s).
- Short Quotes (three lines or less):
Integrate the lines into your text, enclose them in quotation marks, and use a parenthetical citation with the author and line numbers (if available and relevant). Use a slash (/) with a space on each side to indicate line breaks. * Example: Wordsworth suggests a profound detachment from nature, noting, "Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!" (lines 3-4).
- Longer Quotes (more than three lines):
Indent the entire block quote one inch from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks. The parenthetical citation goes after the final punctuation of the quote. * Example: The speaker reflects on the fleeting nature of life: > Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, > Old Time is still a-flying; > And this same flower that smiles today > Tomorrow will be dying. > (Herrick lines 1-4)
If you are citing a poem from a page-numbered anthology, use the page number instead of line numbers if line numbers are not provided or if you are referring to a specific passage on a page. * Example: "The World Is Too Much With Us" critiques materialism (Wordsworth 263).
Works Cited Entry for Poems (MLA)
The format for your Works Cited entry will depend on where you found the poem.
Poem from an Anthology or Collection by Different Authors
This is a very common scenario.
- Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." Title of Anthology, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year, page number(s).
- Example:
Wordsworth, William. "The World Is Too Much With Us." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al., 10th ed., vol. D, W. W. Norton, 2018, p. 263.
Poem from a Single-Author Collection
- Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." Title of Collection, Publisher, Year, page number(s).
- Example:
Eliot, T. S. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Waste Land and Other Poems, Faber and Faber, 1969, pp. 11-17.
Poem from a Website
- Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." Website Name, Publisher (if different from site name), Date of publication/update (if available), URL. Accessed Day Month Year.
- Example:
Dickinson, Emily. "Because I could not stop for Death—(479)." Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 1999, poets.org/poem/because-i-could-not-stop-death-479. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.
Citing a Poem in APA Style (7th Edition)
APA (American Psychological Association) style is primarily used in social sciences. While less common for detailed literary analysis, you might cite a poem if it serves as a primary source for psychological or sociological concepts, or if you're analyzing its impact within a different disciplinary context.
In-Text Citations for Poems (APA)
APA focuses on author-date citations. For poems, you'll typically cite the author and the year of publication. If directly quoting, include page or paragraph numbers.
- Paraphrasing or Referring to a Poem:
Example: In "The World Is Too Much With Us," Wordsworth (1807/2018) critiques humanity's detachment from the natural world. Example (narrative): Wordsworth (2018) explores the theme of nature's loss in "The World Is Too Much With Us."
- Direct Quotes:
If you quote a short passage, enclose it in quotation marks. For longer passages (40 words or more, which could be several lines of poetry), use a block quote. Short Quote Example: Wordsworth (2018) laments that "Little we see in Nature that is ours" (p. 263). Block Quote Example: Wordsworth (2018) opens his sonnet with a lament: > The world is too much with us; late and soon, > Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: > Little we see in Nature that is ours; > We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! (p. 263)
When citing a poem from an anthology, use the publication date of the anthology, and if the original poem was much older, you can include the original publication date in your narrative citation (e.g., Wordsworth, 1807/2018).
Reference List Entry for Poems (APA)
APA reference entries prioritize the recovery of the source.
Poem from an Anthology
- Format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of poem. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of anthology (Edition, Vol. X, pp. xx–xx). Publisher. (Original work published Year)
- Example:
Wordsworth, W. (2018). The world is too much with us. In S. Greenblatt et al. (Eds.), The Norton anthology of English literature (10th ed., Vol. D, p. 263). W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1807)
Poem from a Single-Author Collection
- Format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of collection. Publisher.
- Example:
Eliot, T. S. (1969). The waste land and other poems. Faber and Faber.
Poem from a Website
- Format:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day or n.d. if no date). Title of poem. Website Name. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
- Example:
Dickinson, E. (n.d.). Because I could not stop for death—(479). Poets.org. Retrieved October 15, 2023, from https://poets.org/poem/because-i-could-not-stop-death-479
Citing a Poem in Chicago Style (17th Edition)
Chicago style, often used in history and some social sciences, offers two main documentation systems: Notes-Bibliography (NB) and Author-Date. For literary analysis, Notes-Bibliography is more common.
In-Text Citations for Poems (Chicago NB)
Chicago NB style uses footnotes or endnotes for citations within the text, with a corresponding bibliography entry.
- Footnote/Endnote:
Place a superscript number at the end of the sentence or clause where the citation is needed. The full citation appears in a footnote at the bottom of the page or an endnote at the end of the document. Example (first reference): 1. William Wordsworth, "The World Is Too Much With Us," in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 10th ed., vol. D, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2018), 263. Example (subsequent reference): 2. Wordsworth, "World Is Too Much," 263.
For longer poetic quotes, you would typically present them as block quotes (indented without quotation marks, often with a smaller font) and cite them with a footnote.
Bibliography Entry for Poems (Chicago NB)
The bibliography provides a complete list of all sources cited.
Poem from an Anthology
- Format:
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." In Title of Anthology, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, page number(s). City: Publisher, Year.
- Example:
Wordsworth, William. "The World Is Too Much With Us." In The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 10th ed., vol. D, edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al., 263. New York: W. W. Norton, 2018.
Poem from a Single-Author Collection
- Format:
Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Collection. City: Publisher, Year.
- Example:
Eliot, T. S. The Waste Land and Other Poems. London: Faber and Faber, 1969.
Poem from a Website
- Format:
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Poem." Website Name. Date of publication/access. URL.
- Example:
Dickinson, Emily. "Because I could not stop for Death—(479)." Poets.org. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://poets.org/poem/because-i-could-not-stop-death-479.
Special Considerations for Citing Poems
Untitled Poems
If a poem has no official title, use its first line as the title, enclosed in quotation marks. For example, "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" (Dickinson).
Poems from Databases
If you access a poem through an academic database (like JSTOR or Project MUSE), typically cite the original print publication information. If the database itself offers unique publication details or a stable URL/DOI, include that.
Citing a Poem within Another Poem
If one poem quotes or references another, cite the poem you are directly reading and then acknowledge the original source of the embedded poem if relevant to your discussion.
Line Numbers vs. Page Numbers
- Line Numbers: Preferred for classical poetry or poems where line breaks are crucial to your analysis. Use "line" or "lines" in MLA; Chicago uses "line" or "ll." APA typically uses page numbers, but if line numbers are essential and clear, they can be included.
- Page Numbers: Used when line numbers are not provided, or when citing a poem that fills many pages and you are referring to a general section.
Accuracy and Consistency
The key to effective citation is accuracy and consistency. Double-check every detail, from punctuation to capitalization, against the guidelines of your chosen style. An overlooked comma or an incorrect abbreviation can detract from your paper's professionalism. If you find the nuances of citation overwhelming, remember that services like EssayMatrix can assist with professional editing and formatting, ensuring your citations are impeccable.
Always consult the most recent edition of the style guide (e.g., MLA Handbook, APA Publication Manual, Chicago Manual of Style) or your instructor's specific requirements, as rules can evolve.
Conclusion
Citing poems, like any other source, requires careful attention to detail and adherence to specific style guidelines. By understanding the core components of a citation and the distinct requirements of MLA, APA, and Chicago styles, you can confidently integrate poetry into your academic work while upholding scholarly integrity. Remember to always provide enough information for your reader to easily locate the original source.