MLA Citations

• Citing a poem in MLA style can seem difficult, but the basics are the same as any other source. 

• Remember to cite every source you use in your paper. Each source should be cited within the text and within your Works Cited page. Not citing each source in both locations is plagiarism. 

• Use "quotation marks" when you use the exact words from a source unless you are using a block quote when citing poetry.

• Cite even if you paraphrase. Even though you do not have to use quotation marks when paraphrasing, citations are required for all information that you did not create.

When quoting poetry, you can quote one line, a few lines, or several. In MLA style, your formatting is different depending on how many lines you are quoting.

2–3 lines

• If you quote two or three lines, use a slash to mark the line breaks. Put a space before and after the slash. Make sure to use the same punctuation, capitalization, and styling as in the original text.
• Be sure to include quotation marks around the lines you are quoting. 

Example

       Mahon writes that “Deep in the grounds of a burnt-out hotel, / Among the bathtubs and the washbasins / A thousand mushrooms crowd to a keyhole.” (Mahon, lines 1-3).

• Some poems have stanzas (or verses), which are groupings of lines in a poem. If your quote contains lines from more than one stanza, you should mark it with two slashes:

Example

       A haunting image comes next: “They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith. // They are begging us, you see, in their wordless way, / To do something, to speak on their behalf”        (Mahon, lines 8-10).

4+ lines

• If you quote more than three lines of poetry, set them off as a block quote. Use an introductory sentence ending with a colon, then start the quotation on a new line, indented half an inch from the left margin.
• When block quoting poetry, include all line breaks in the quotation and keep the formatting as close to the original as possible. If there is any unusual spacing, reproduce this in the block quote.
• Do not include quotation marks for a block quote.

Example

       Mahon’s poem opens with a series of images of eerily deserted spaces:

              Even now there are places where a thought might grow —
              Peruvian mines, worked out and abandoned
             To a slow clock of condensation,
             An echo trapped for ever, and a flutter
             Of wildflowers in the lift-shaft. (Mahon, lines 5-9)

• When quoting a poem, the poet’s last name must be clearly stated so that the reader can locate the source in the Works Cited list.

Example

In the first stanza, the poet says “They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith" (Mahon). 

• If line numbers are displayed within the text, be sure to include the line numbers after the poet's last name as follows:

Example

 A haunting image comes next: “They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith. // They are begging us, you see, in their wordless way, / To do something, to speak on their behalf” (Mahon, lines 8-10).

• If there are no line numbers displayed in the source, do not count them manually. If the poem includes page numbers, use the page number(s) instead.

Example

Mahon writes that “Deep in the grounds of a burnt-out hotel, / Among the bathtubs and the washbasins / A thousand mushrooms crowd to a keyhole.” (Mahon, 126).

• If there are no page or line numbers available, you only need to include the poet’s last name.

Example

“They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith. // They are begging us, you see, in their wordless way, / To do something, to speak on their behalf” (Mahon).

• If quoting 3 lines or less, place the period after the in-text citation.

Example

In the first stanza, the poet says “They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith" (Mahon, line 6). 

• If quoting 4 or more lines (block quote), place the period before the in text citation.

Example

 Mahon’s poem opens with a series of images of eerily deserted spaces:

              Even now there are places where a thought might grow —
              Peruvian mines, worked out and abandoned
             To a slow clock of condensation,
             An echo trapped for ever, and a flutter
             Of wildflowers in the lift-shaft. (Mahon, lines 5-9)

• If you have cited the author's name within a paragraph in your paper, you do not need to include the author's name again if you include another quote from the same author within the same paragraph.
• You only need to include the line or page number(s) for each subsequent in-text citation.

Example

The second stanza begins with an ominous prophetic voice asking “What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow / Out of this stony rubbish?” (Mahon, lines 19–20). The “heap of broken images” (22) referenced in the following lines could be taken for a symbol of the fragmentary structure of the poem itself.