How to Cite a Poem: MLA, APA, Chicago & More (Made Easy)

You’re putting the finishing touches on an essay about your favorite poem. You’re feeling good, maybe even a little proud of the insights you’ve packed into your paper. But then you ask yourself, “How do I quote poetry correctly?” Or worse, “What even is a poem citation?” Suddenly, you’re Googling frantically, drowning in rules about line breaks, slashes, and MLA guidelines. It’s enough to make anyone question their life choices.

You’re not alone, and this is not as complicated as it seems. Whether you’re referencing a single line from Emily Dickinson or several stanzas of Shakespeare, knowing how to quote poetry and properly handle poem citations is easier than you think.

Let’s make this simple, stress-free, and maybe even fun.

Key Elements to Include in a Poetry Citation

Citing a poem doesn’t have to feel like a confusing mess of rules. Once you know what details to gather, it’s just about keeping things organized. When quoting poetry in your essay, the goal is to give proper credit without overcomplicating your writing.

Here's what you need to include in a proper poem citation:

Author's Name – The poet's full name, just like in any other citation.
Poem Title – Use quotation marks for shorter poems and italics for long works or collections.
Title of the Collection (if there is one) – If the poem is part of a collection or anthology, mention the book’s title.
Editor(s) (if applicable) – If someone else edited the collection, their name matters too.
Publisher – Who put the book out there? You’ll need the publisher’s name for your references.
Publication Date – The year the collection was published.
Page Numbers (if needed) – If the poem spans specific pages, you’ll need those too

Of course, how you format this information depends on the citation style. The most common styles for poetry are:

MLA (Modern Language Association) – Often required in literature and humanities classes.
APA (American Psychological Association) – More common in social sciences but sometimes used for interdisciplinary work.
Chicago Manual of Style – A go-to for humanities and historical papers.
Turabian – Basically a student-friendly version of Chicago style.

Each style has its own rules for both in-text citations (mentioning the poem directly in your paper) and the Works Cited list/References page (where you list all the poem’s details at the end). Knowing how to cite a poem in MLA, APA, or Chicago style keeps your work polished and plagiarism-free.

Cite Poems? Easy.

We’ll handle the tricky citation stuff while you focus on the ideas

Hire a Writer

Gen Z Slang Quiz: How “Rizzed Up” Are You?

Start the Quiz

Reveal Your Dark Halloween Identity!

Take our fun personality halloween quiz for anyone to reveal your ideal Halloween costume!

Start the Quiz

Congrats! You’ve unlocked your Halloween alter ego

Wednesday Addams

Personality

Mysterious, dark, and sarcastic

Description

You’re the master of dark humor and love standing out with your unconventional style. Your perfect costume? A modern twist on Wednesday Addams’ gothic look. You’ll own Halloween with your unapologetically eerie vibe. 🖤🕸️

The reward for you

As a reward for completing the halloween costume quiz, here’s a special treat for you!

20% OFF

SPOOKY20

Use code SPOOKY20 at checkout for 20% off your next order! Valid until 31 Oct. 24

Place Order Now

Copy code

Source: https://essaypro.com/blog/how-to-cite-a-poem

How to Cite a Poem in MLA

MLA format has rules for everything — line breaks, punctuation, page numbers — and missing a step can cost you points. Good news: citing a poem MLA is more straightforward than it seems.

Citing a Poem in References (MLA)

Here, you’re showing exactly where you got the information so your reader (and your instructor) can trace it easily. The basic format changes slightly depending on where you found the poem, whether in a collection or anthology.

When citing the title of a poem in MLA:

Use quotation marks for the poem’s title.
Italicize the title of the collection, anthology, or website.
Page ranges matter if the poem spans multiple pages (e.g., pp. 15-16).

Source Type	Citation Format	Example
📕 Poem from a Collection	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor’s Name (if applicable), Publisher, Year, Page Number(s).	Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem, Henry Holt, 1979, pp. 15-16.
📗 How to Cite a Poem in an Anthology	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Title of Anthology, edited by Editor’s Name, Publisher, Year, Page Number(s).	Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr., W.W. Norton, 1996, pp. 871-872.
🌐 Poem from a Website	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Website Name, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Date.	Plath, Sylvia. “Lady Lazarus.” Poetry Foundation, 2010, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.

How to Cite a Poem In-Text (MLA)

To cite a poem in text, MLA uses a simple system: you reference the poet’s last name and the line numbers (or page numbers if no lines are listed).

Short quotes (3 lines or fewer) can be included directly in your paragraph, using slashes ( / ) to indicate line breaks and quotation marks around the text:

Example: Frost reflects on choice when he writes, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both” (lines 1-2).

If you’re quoting 4 lines or more, MLA requires a block quote format. That means you’ll indent the entire quote half an inch from the left margin and remove quotation marks:

Example: In Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Dickinson explores mortality:
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality. (lines 1-4)

If the poem doesn’t have line numbers (especially the poem online), MLA suggests citing the page number or just the poet’s name.

Scenario	Example
📄 No Line Numbers, Use Page Number	“Your head so much concerned with outer, / Mine with inner, weather.” (Frost 126).
🌐 No Line or Page Numbers (Online)	“Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” (Oliver).

And if you’re referencing more than one poem by the same poet in your essay, you need to make sure the reader knows which poem you’re referring to. Just add the poem title in the in-text citation.

Example:“And miles to go before I sleep” (Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” line 15).

If you're feeling overwhelmed by poem citations or stuck on the MLA style, you can always buy custom essay tailored to your needs.

How to Cite a Poem in APA

Citing a poem APA is really just about keeping things organized and giving proper credit. APA is often used for social sciences, but it works perfectly for poetry too, as long as you follow some basic rules.

If poetry isn't your thing but you need a political science essay writer, there’s help out there.

Citing a Poem in References (APA)

The format changes slightly depending on where the poem was found, but the basics stay the same: you’ll need the poet’s name, the year of publication, the poem’s title, and the source where it was published:

Italicize the poem title in the reference list but use quotation marks for in-text citations.
Always italicize the collection or anthology title.
If the poem is part of an edited collection, include the editor’s name with (Ed.) after the collection title.
If the poem covers multiple pages, include the full range.
For poems found online, include the publication date and the URL.

Source Type	Citation Format	Example
📕 Poem from a Collection	Poet’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Poem Title. In Editor’s Name (Ed.), Title of Collection (pp. page range). Publisher.	Hughes, L. (1994). The Negro Speaks of Rivers. In D. Roessel (Ed.), The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (pp. 23-24). Knopf.
📗 Citing a Poem in an Anthology	Poet’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Poem Title. In Editor’s Name (Ed.), Title of Anthology (pp. page range). Publisher.	Clifton, L. (2017). won't you celebrate with me. In R. Young (Ed.), The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing (pp. 200-201). Bloomsbury.
🌐 Citing a Poem from a Website	Poet’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Poem Title. Website Publisher. URL	Smith, T. (2018, March 4). Don't Call Us Dead. Poetry Foundation. www.poetryfoundation.org.

How to Cite a Poem in APA In-Text

APA’s in-text citation system is refreshingly simple. It uses an author-date system where you include the poet’s last name and the year of publication right after the quote.

If you’re quoting 3 lines or fewer, keep the quote within your sentence. Use slashes ( / ) to mark line breaks and add the poet’s last name, year, and line number in parentheses.

Example: Brooks reflects on childhood when she writes, “We real cool. We / Left school. We / Lurk late” (Brooks, 1960, lines 1-3).

If your quote is longer than two or three lines (or more than 40 words), APA requires you to format it as a block quote. The entire quote should be indented 0.5 inches from the left margin, double-spaced, and without quotation marks.

Example:
I know why the caged bird sings,
Ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and he would be free. (Angelou, 1969, lines 3-6)

If the poem you’re citing doesn’t have line numbers, APA suggests using page numbers instead (if available). If you’re quoting from an online source with no numbering, you can simply include the poet’s name and the publication year. Here’s how to cite a poem with no line number:

Scenario	Example Citation
📄 No Line Numbers, Use Page Number	“I am in love with this world / Which spared me” (Oliver, 1992, p. 44).
🌐 No Line or Page Numbers (Online)	“Let us go then, you and I” (Eliot, 1915).

And if you’re referencing more than one poem by the same poet in your paper, make sure to clarify which poem you’re quoting by adding the poem’s title directly in your in-text citation.

Example: “I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)” (Cummings, 1952, I Carry Your Heart, line 5).

How to Cite a Poem in Chicago Style

Citing a poem Chicago style sounds fancy, but it’s actually pretty straightforward once you break it down. Whether you’re quoting a single line from Robert Frost or a whole stanza from Maya Angelou, Chicago just wants you to give credit the right way with footnotes and a bibliography.

Citing a Poem in the Bibliography (Chicago)

Here’s how it works depending on where you found the poem, but the same core rules apply:

Always use quotation marks for the poem’s title.
Italicize the title of the collection, anthology, or website.
If the poem spans multiple pages, list the full range.
If the collection has an editor, include their name with “Edited by” before it.

Source Type	Citation Format	Example
📕 Poem from a Collection	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Poem.” Title of Collection. Edited by Editor’s Name. Publisher, Year Published, Page Number(s).	Gorman, Amanda. “The Hill We Climb.” The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country. Viking, 2021, pp. 4-7.
📗 Poem from an Anthology	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Title of Anthology. Edited by Editor’s Name. Publisher, Year, Page Number(s).	Blake, William. “The Tyger.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Edited by Stephen Greenblatt. Norton, 2018, pp. 562-563.
🌐 Poem from a Website	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Website Name. Last modified Date. URL.	Giovanni, Nikki. “Ego Tripping.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed January 5, 2024. www.poetryfoundation.org.

How to Cite a Poem In Footnotes (Chicago)

Chicago skips the whole parenthetical citation thing and uses footnotes or endnotes instead. This means you’ll put a small superscript number after the quote and list the full source at the bottom of the page.

For short quotes (3 lines or fewer), keep it in your sentence with slashes ( / ) separating the lines and quotation marks around the text.

Example: Gorman reflects on unity when she writes, *“We are striving to forge a union with purpose, / To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man”*¹.

For long quotes (4 lines or more), indent the entire quote 0.5 inches from the left margin. Don’t use quotation marks, and keep the poem's original line breaks and formatting.

Example:
O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm.¹

The corresponding footnote or endnote entry would appear as:

Example: ¹ Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb,” in The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country (Viking, 2021), 4-7.

Need an essay writer online to help polish up your poetry analysis? Getting professional support can save you time and stress.

How to Cite a Poem in Turabian Style

Turabian is basically a more student-friendly version of Chicago style, designed to help you give credit without all the confusing extras. It relies on footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations and a bibliography at the end of your paper to list all your sources.

Citing a Poem in the Bibliography (Turabian)

Whether the poem came from a book, an anthology, or a website, the format stays pretty similar to the Chicago style:

Source Type	Citation Format	Example
📕 Poem from a Collection	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Title of Collection. Edited by Editor’s Name. Publisher, Year, Page Number(s).	Collins, Billy. “Introduction to Poetry.” The Apple That Astonished Paris. Edited by John Anderson. University of Arkansas Press, 1996, pp. 45-46.
📗 Poem from an Anthology	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Title of Anthology. Edited by Editor’s Name. Publisher, Year, Page Number(s).	Kaur, Rupi. “The Sun and Her Flowers.” The Best Contemporary Poetry Anthology. Edited by Dana Smith. HarperCollins, 2020, pp. 120-121.
🌐 Poem from a Website	Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Website Name. Last modified Date. URL.	Kay, Sarah. “If I Should Have a Daughter.” Button Poetry. Accessed January 5, 2024. www.buttonpoetry.com.

How to Cite a Poem In-Text (Turabian Footnotes)

When quoting a poem directly in your essay, Turabian uses footnotes instead of parenthetical citations. Place a small superscript number right after the quote and include the full source information at the bottom of the page.

Short quotes (3 lines or fewer) stay within the sentence and use slashes ( / ) to indicate line breaks.

Example: Collins describes poetry as *“a place for the reader to hold the poem up to the light / like a color slide / or press an ear against its hive”*¹.

For longer excerpts (4 lines or more), Turabian requires a block quote format. The quote should be indented half an inch from the left margin, without quotation marks.

Example:
I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it—
A sort of walking miracle.¹

The footnote entry should match the information in your bibliography but be slightly condensed.

Example: ¹ Billy Collins, “Introduction to Poetry,” in The Apple That Astonished Paris, ed. John Anderson (University of Arkansas Press, 1996), 45-46.

Citation Survival Hacks (Because Rules Matter)

Once you get the hang of it, it’s more about consistency than perfection. Whether you're working with MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian, here are some essential tips to keep your poem citation sharp:

Book Titles in Italics: Always italicize the title of book or collection the poem is part of, like The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath.
Poem Titles in Quotation Marks: Use quotation marks around the title, like “Ode to a Nightingale.”
Multi-Volume Anthologies: If you're citing a multi-volume anthology, don’t forget the volume number (e.g., Vol. 2). Example: The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Vol. 1.
Editions Matter: If you’re working with a specific revised or updated edition, be sure to include that detail. Example: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, 2nd ed.
No Publication Date?: If a poem is from a website and lacks a clear publication date, use "n.d." (no date) in APA or “Accessed [date]” for MLA and Chicago.
Consistent Formatting: Whether it’s MLA or APA, stick to the same citation format throughout your entire paper. Switching styles midway = confusing and messy.
URLs for Online Poems: If you’re citing a website, avoid hyperlinks and just list the full URL (e.g., www.poetryfoundation.org). MLA and APA also recommend including access dates if content might change.
Consult the Official Style Guide: Styles evolve. Check the MLA Handbook, APA Publication Manual, or Chicago Manual of Style for the latest updates, especially when citing digital sources.

Struggling to wrap up your paper? Here's a guide on how to write a conclusion for a research paper that sticks the landing.

Poem Citation Example

Check out this PDF with a complete poem citation example, so you can see exactly how to format your references and in-text citations the right way.

Poem Citation Example

Wrapping It Up: Your Poem Citation Game Plan

Figuring out how to cite a poem is really just about keeping things clear and consistent: quotation marks for poem titles, italics for collections, and remembering page numbers or line numbers when they matter. Whether it’s MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian, the goal is the same: giving credit where it’s due without overcomplicating things.

Stick to the basics, follow your style guide, and your citations will be good to go. And remember, whether it’s poems or complex formulas, literature and physics help is just a click away when you're tackling tough assignments.

Source: https://essaypro.com/blog/how-to-cite-a-poem

Quoting Poems? We Got You.

Perfect references. Clean formatting. Less hassle.

‍

Hire a Writer Hire a Writer

FAQ

Source: https://essaypro.com/blog/how-to-cite-a-poem

Want to see more?

Thanks for for your reply

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Mia

November 1, 2024

Eye of the Tiger gonna help me pass calc? Sure, I’ll give it a shot but not holding my breath here 💀

Lucy

October 30, 2024

Nice choice of songs! I know almost all of them and the playlist for studying is epic! Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over is a cray cray :)

Sofia

October 30, 2024

Absolutely loving this playlist! 🎧 Big thanks for putting this together – totally recommend this to anyone needing that extra motivation boost! 🙌

Katty

October 30, 2024

The song that motivates me the most is MÅNESKIN - Honey!

Was this helpfull?

Yes 👍

No 👎

Adam Jason

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Adam Jason

What was changed:

Sources:

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Style and Grammar Guidelines. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines

The Chicago Manual of Style. (n.d.). Citation Guide. The Chicago Manual of Style. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

The Chicago Manual of Style. (n.d.). Turabian Citation Guide. The Chicago Manual of Style. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/citation-guide.html

‍

Share the article