Poems are an important aspect of literature often used to appeal to human feelings or emotions via a sophisticated [and sometimes technical] arrangement of language. If you are studying literature, you may find yourself writing academic papers where you will need to cite a poem. This requires a gathering of all available information about the sources you want to cite. Some of the information may include:
- First and last name of the poem
- Line, page number, or page range
- The poem’s title
- Original and/or source year of publication
- Name of the publication the poem appears in eg the title of the book hosting the poem, the name of the website, or the title of the anthology which the poem is part of.
- Name of the organization or website that published the poem
- For online poems, the website URL
- For anthologies, the first and last name of the editor(s)
The citation formats below are based on the Modern Language Association Style [9th edition]. They cover only bibliography/references.
Citing an online poem
- The citation should commence with the last name of the poet followed by a comma and then his or her first name [the first letter of both should be capitalized]. A period should come after the poet’s first name.
- The poem’s title should be enclosed in quotation marks and end with a period. Capitalize the title in title case, that is, capitalize the first letters of principal words in the title.
- Include the year in which the poem was originally published and then a period. If your internet source does not indicate the poem’s year of publication, be sure to probe other sources for it.
- The website’s title must be italicized and also written in title case just like the title of the poem. Place a comma after the website’s title.
- After the title of the website comes the name of the publisher of the website capitalized in title case and then followed by a comma. Unlike the website’s title, however, the name of the publisher should not be italicized.
- Attach the source URL [which should not begin with https://] and then punctuate with a period.
- Finally, when providing that date you visited the website for the poem, begin with the word “Accessed” [note that the first letter is capitalized]. The date should be in figures, not be punctuated by commas, and arranged in this order: day, month [the first letter capitalized/month can be abbreviated], and year. This last part is optional.
An example of the steps enumerated above is presented below
| Format | P Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Poem.” Year of poem’s original publication (if available). Title of the Website, Name of Website Publisher, URL. Accessed day month year. |
| Example | Fr Maria, Black. “Utopias.” 1979. Poems for All.Poems for All, www.poemdistrubutedforall.com/poems/utopia. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020. |
Citing a poem in a book
The modus for citing a poem in a book differs from that used to site poems located on the internet. The citation format for book poems is highlighted below.
- Here, the citation should commence with the last name of the poet and then his or her first name [their first letters should be capitalized]. Be sure to insert a comma in-between both and a period after the first name.
- The title of the poem should be written in title case and enclosed in quotation marks with a period ending it.
- Indicate the title of the book hosting the poem in title case and italics and then punctuate with a comma.
- Following the title of the book comes the name of the publisher which is capitalized in title case the way it is capitalized in the book [since it is a proper noun] but not italicized, followed by a comma. Including the location of the publisher is not necessary.
- Include the year the book was published [in figures] and then a comma. Note that this does not have to be the same year the poem was originally published.
- Use “p.” or “pp.” to indicate the page number or page range of the poem being cited. Use “p.” if only one page is involved, e.g., p. 16, and “pp.” if it is referencing a range of pages, e.g., pp. 16-19. The citation should subsequently conclude with a period after the page number or range of numbers.
| Format | P Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Poem.” Title of the Book, Name of Publishing Company, Year of publication, page number, or page range. |
| Example | Fr Hassan, Yasmine. “The Silliness of Youth.” Selected Poems of Yasmine Hassan, Rock Publishing Co. 2014, p. 19. |
Citing a poem in an anthology
An anthology is a collection or compilation of the works [poems, short stories, plays, etc] of various authors in one book. It can also be a compilation of some selected works of a single author. Here are the steps for citing a poem in an anthology.
- For an anthology, the citation begins the same way as in online sources and books: the last name of the poet followed by a comma and then the poet’s first name [with the first letter of both words capitalized].
- The title of the poem should be written in title case and enclosed in quotation marks with a period ending it.
- Indicate the title of the anthology which the poem is part of in title case and italics and then punctuate with a comma
- After the title come the words “edited by” and then the first and last name of the editor(s) [not italicized] with the first letter of each appearing in uppercase letters.
- If the above involves a couple of editors, their names should be linked with “and” instead of an ampersand.
- In the case of three editors and above, each editor’s name should be punctuated with a comma with “and” to link the last two editors.
- If applicable to the anthology, include the book’s edition (e.g., 4th ed.) followed by a comma.
- Indicate the volume number of the book [if applicable to the anthology] and then punctuate with a comma.
- After the title of the book comes the name of the publisher which is capitalized in title case the way it is capitalized in the anthology [since it is a proper noun] but not italicized, followed by a comma. Including the location of the publisher is not necessary.
- Include the year the book was published [in figures] and then a comma. Note that this does not have to be the same year the poem was originally published.
- Use “p.” or “pp.” to indicate the page number or page range of the poem being cited. Use “p.” if only one page is involved, e.g., p. 16, and “pp.” if it is a range of pages, e.g., pp. 16-19. The citation should subsequently conclude with a period after the page number or range of numbers.
| Format | P Poet’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Poem.” Title of Anthology, edited by Editor’s First and Last Name, edition (if applicable), volume (if applicable), Publisher, year of anthology publication, page number, or page range. |
| Example | Fr Doe, Jane. “Heavens of Joy.” Poetry Collections, edited by Adam Smith, Opinionated Publishers Inc, 2015, p. 78. |