To quote lines from a poem, keep the poet’s line breaks and cite by line number rather than page. For up to three lines run into your sentence, mark each break with a forward slash. For four or more, set the lines off as a block quote with the original formatting. In MLA, the in-text citation gives the line numbers, not a page: (lines 12-14). Preserving the poem’s shape is what separates quoting poetry from quoting prose.
How do you quote one to three lines of poetry?
Run short quotations into your own sentence and mark the line breaks with a forward slash, a space on each side. Two lines look like this: the poem opens, “Whose woods these are I think I know. / His house is in the village though” (lines 1-2). Keep the capitalization and punctuation exactly as the poet wrote them, since line breaks and capital letters are part of the poem’s meaning.
How do you quote four or more lines?
Set them off as a block quote. Begin on a new line, indent the passage half an inch, and reproduce the original line breaks exactly, no forward slashes, because the real breaks are now visible. Do not add quotation marks. If the poem indents or staggers its lines, mirror that spacing as closely as you can. The parenthetical citation goes after the final line’s punctuation. The block format matches how to block quote, with the added rule that a poem’s layout is preserved.
How do you cite line numbers?
Cite poetry by line, not page. The first time, write the word “line” or “lines” so the reader knows the number is not a page: (lines 5-6). After that, numbers alone are clear: (7-8). Count the lines from the start of the poem unless your edition numbers them differently, and use the edition’s numbering if it provides one. This is the main citation difference from a standard MLA quote citation, which uses page numbers.
How do you show a stanza break?
When a quotation crosses from one stanza into the next, mark the stanza break with a double forward slash (//) if you are running the lines into your text, or with a blank line if you are using a block quote. This tells the reader the poem itself has a gap there, not just a line break. Keeping stanza divisions visible matters because they structure how the poem is read.
How do you introduce a poetry quote?
Name the poem and, where useful, the speaker or moment before the quotation, so the lines have a frame: “In the final stanza, the speaker admits…”. A signal phrase also lets you avoid a clumsy citation by putting the poet’s name in your sentence rather than the parentheses. See how to introduce a quote, and for verse drama specifically, how to quote a play covers act, scene, and line numbering.
FAQ
How do you quote two lines of a poem?
Run them into your sentence in quotation marks and separate the lines with a forward slash: “Line one / line two” (lines 1-2). Keep the original capitalization and punctuation.
How many lines before you use a block quote?
Four or more. Set them on their own indented lines, keep the poet’s line breaks, and drop the quotation marks.
Do you cite a poem by page or line number?
By line number. Write “line” or “lines” the first time, then use numbers alone: (lines 3-4), then (5-6).
How do you show a stanza break in a quote?
Use a double slash (//) when running lines into your text, or a blank line within a block quote, to mark where one stanza ends and the next begins.
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