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MLA Style Guide: Poetry

Poetry

Material Type In-text Citation Works Cited
Poem from an anthology (various authors)  

(Shakespeare 1-4)

For poems, cite the line(s) of the poem, rather than the page number in the in-text citation.

Shakespeare, William. “That Time of Year (Sonnet 73).” The Indian River Reader: Custom Compilation for ENC 1101, edited by Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell, Anthony C. Winkler, Joseph F. Trimmer, and Mark Connelly. Cengage Learning, 2017, pp. 135-36.

Poem from a collection (works from the same author)  

(Szymborska 16-21)

For poems, cite the line(s) of the poem, rather than the page number in the in-text citation.

Szymborska, Wislawa. “Moment.” Monologue of a Dog. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005, pp.11-13.

 

Poem from a website (Internet, available to everyone)

 

(Shakespeare 5-8)

For poems, cite the line(s) of the poem, rather than the page number in the in-text citation.

Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayest in me behold.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45099/sonnet-73-that-time-of-year-thou-mayst-in-me-behold.
Poem by an anonymous poet  

(Anonymous 11-12)

For poems, cite the line(s) of the poem, rather than the page number in the in-text citation.

Anonymous. “Barbara Allan”. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, edited by Robert DiYanni, 6th ed., McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 1056-57.
Part of a book from an online database (poem, chapter, essay, piece)

(Denham 1-8)

For poems, cite the line(s) of the poem, rather than the page number in the in-text citation.

Denham, John. “Cooper's Hill.": The Poetry of Sir John Denham, Portable Poetry, 2017, pp. 3-11. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), db12.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1450455&site=ehost-live.