Poem Citation Generator
Cite a poem from a book, an anthology or a website. Enter the poet, the poem's title, the collection and its editor, the publisher, the year and the pages, and get the reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles — and how to point to a line. Free, no sign-up.
How to Use the Poem Citation Generator
- 1. Find the book's details. The poem sits inside a collection or an anthology. Find the book's title, its editor, the publisher, the year and the page range of the poem.
- 2. Enter them. Put the poem's title in Title and the poet in Author(s). Put the book's title in Book title, the editor in Editor(s), and the publisher in Publisher / Site.
- 3. Add the year and pages. Use the year of the edition you read, and the first and last page of the poem, as in 356-359.
- 4. Pick a style. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles. The form opens on the Book chapter type, which suits a poem in a collection.
- 5. Copy it, then add the line numbers to the in-text citation as described below.
A Poem Is a Part of a Book
A poem is cited as a part of the book it sits in, the way a chapter is. The poem's title is the title of the part, and the collection is the container. A very long poem published as a book, such as Paradise Lost, is cited as a book instead, with its title in italics.
| Element | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poem title | Plain type, sentence case | In quotation marks | In quotation marks |
| Book | After In and the editor, italic | Italic, as the container | After in, italic |
| Editor | (T. O. Mabbott, Ed.), before the book | edited by, after the book | edited by, after the book |
| Pages | (pp. 356–359) | pp. 356–59 | Optional in the bibliography |
APA 7 treats a poem in an edited book like a chapter: the poet, the year, the poem's title, then In and the editor, the book in italics, the pages and the publisher, with the original date at the end for a reprint. MLA 9 puts the poem's title in quotation marks and the book in italics, followed by the editor, the publisher, the year and the pages. Chicago 18 adds the poem's title in quotation marks and the book in italics after in.
Poem Citation Examples
Poe's “The Raven” in Thomas Ollive Mabbott's edition of Poe's poems, published by Harvard University Press in 1969. The poem first appeared in 1845. The page numbers are illustrative; use the pages in your copy.
A poem in a collection
APA 7:
Poe, E. A. (1969). The raven. In T. O. Mabbott (Ed.), Collected works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems (pp. 356–359). Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1845)
APA in-text:
(Poe, 1845/1969, line 12)
MLA 9:
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems, edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Belknap Press of Harvard UP, 1969, pp. 356–59.
MLA in-text:
(Poe, line 12)
Chicago 18 note:
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven,” in Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems, ed. Thomas Ollive Mabbott (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969), 356–59.
Chicago 18 bibliography:
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” In Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems, edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969.
Citing Lines
A poem is located by line, not by page. In MLA, write line or lines the first time and give numbers alone afterwards: (Poe, lines 1–6), then (Poe 7–12). In APA, give (Poe, 1845/1969, line 12). In MLA, up to three lines of verse run into your text, with a slash and a space on each side marking the line breaks; longer passages are set as a block.
What the Generator Gives You
The generator returns Poe, E. A. (1969). The raven. In T. O. Mabbott (Ed.), Collected works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems (pp. 356–359). Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. in APA; add the original date. In MLA it puts the title in quotation marks and the book in italics, with pp. 356–59. In Chicago it leaves out the pages from the bibliography entry, which Chicago 18 no longer requires. For a poem on a website, put the site in the book box and paste the URL.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite a poem in MLA 9?
- Put the poet's name, the poem's title in quotation marks, the collection in italics, the editor, the publisher, the year and the pages: Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems, edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Belknap Press of Harvard UP, 1969, pp. 356–59. In text, cite lines: (Poe, lines 1–6).
- How do I cite a poem in APA 7?
- Give the poet, the year, the poem's title in plain type, and the book after In and the editor: Poe, E. A. (1969). The raven. In T. O. Mabbott (Ed.), Collected works of Edgar Allan Poe: Vol. 1. Poems (pp. 356–359). Publisher. In text: (Poe, 1845/1969, line 12).
- How do I cite a poem in Chicago style?
- Use a note with the poem's title in quotation marks and the book in italics after in, then the editor, the publisher, the year and the page: Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven,” in Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Thomas Ollive Mabbott (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969), 356–59. For a quoted line, use the line number.
- How do I cite a poem I read online?
- Cite the poem's page: the poet, the poem in quotation marks, the site in italics, the date if shown, and the URL. If the page names the book the poem came from, you can cite the book instead. The Website Citation Generator handles a poem on an ordinary web page.
- How do I cite a poem when I quote only part of it?
- Cite the whole poem and give the lines you quote in the text. A short quotation of one or two lines goes in your sentence in quotation marks, with a slash between lines. Cite the line numbers, not the pages.
- Which citation styles does the poem generator support?
- All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.
Related Tools
How to cite a Poem in each style
Format rules, templates, and worked examples for the styles most often required.