Poetry and song lyrics are primary texts in literary analysis, and MLA has specific rules for quoting them. Short excerpts (up to three lines of verse) use slash notation inline with your text, while longer passages get their own block quotation format. Instead of page numbers, you cite line numbers — a convention unique to verse.
Whether you're analyzing a Shakespearean sonnet, a contemporary spoken-word piece, or a song from a concept album, the citation and formatting principles are the same. The key differences from prose citation are the slash notation for short excerpts and the use of line numbers.
Quoting Up to 3 Lines of Poetry — Slash Notation
When you quote three or fewer lines of verse, embed them in your text. Use a forward slash ( / ) with a space on each side to indicate where line breaks fall in the original:
Keats opens "Ode to a Nightingale" with a declaration of physical distress: "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk" (lines 1–2).
Format rules:
- Enclose the quotation in double quotation marks
- Use / (space-slash-space) to mark line breaks
- Preserve the original capitalization at the beginning of each new line
- The parenthetical citation follows the closing quotation mark, before the period
- Write "lines" in the first citation from that poem; after that, use just numbers: (5–6)
Two Lines
Eliot's speaker measures life in domestic triviality: "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; / I know the voices dying with a dying fall" (lines 51–52).
Three Lines
Dickinson compresses the whole arc of hope into three lines: "Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without the words" (lines 1–3).
If a quotation crosses a stanza break, use a double slash ( // ) to indicate it:
"And miles to go before I sleep, // And miles to go before I sleep" (lines 15–16).
Quoting 4 or More Lines — Block Quotation
If you're quoting four or more lines of verse, set the passage apart as a block quotation:
- Introduce the quotation with a sentence that provides context
- Indent the entire quotation 0.5 inches from the left margin
- Preserve the original line breaks — reproduce the poem's formatting
- Do not use quotation marks (the indentation signals it's a quotation)
- Place the parenthetical citation after the final punctuation mark
Keats captures the speaker's sensory overload in the opening stanza:
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk. (lines 1–4)
What to notice:
- No quotation marks
- Each line of verse starts on its own line, preserving the original layout
- The parenthetical appears after the period on the last line
- If the poem uses unusual spacing or indentation, try to reproduce it
Using Line Numbers Instead of Page Numbers
Poetry citations use line numbers, not page numbers. This is one of the key differences between citing verse and citing prose.
First Reference
The first time you cite lines from a poem, use the word "lines" to make clear that the numbers refer to lines, not pages:
(lines 1–4)
Subsequent References
After establishing that you're citing line numbers, use just the numbers:
(12–14)
When the Work Has No Line Numbers
If the poem doesn't have printed line numbers (common in short poems and web publications), count the lines yourself starting from the first line of the poem.
Act, Scene, and Line
For verse plays (Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sophocles), cite by act, scene, and line separated by periods:
(3.1.56–58)
This tells the reader: Act 3, Scene 1, lines 56–58.
Citing a Poem from a Book by a Single Author
If the poem comes from a collection by the poet:
Works Cited:
Oliver, Mary. "The Summer Day." House of Light. Beacon Press, 1990, p. 60.
In-text citation:
(Oliver, lines 1–2) — first reference
(Oliver 3–4) — subsequent references
If you're citing the entire collection, not an individual poem:
Oliver, Mary. House of Light. Beacon Press, 1990.
Citing a Poem from an Anthology
Anthologies use the container system. The poem is the work; the anthology is the container:
Works Cited:
Brooks, Gwendolyn. "We Real Cool." The Norton Anthology of Poetry, edited by Margaret Ferguson et al., 6th ed., W. W. Norton, 2018, p. 1590.
In-text citation:
(Brooks, lines 1–4)
What to notice:
- The poem title is in quotation marks (it's a short work inside a larger container)
- The anthology title is in italics (it's the container)
- Include the editor(s), edition, publisher, year, and page number
Citing a Poem Found Online
If you accessed the poem on a website rather than in a book:
Works Cited:
Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise.
In-text citation:
(Angelou, lines 1–3)
If the website provides a date of publication or posting, include it:
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem." Academy of American Poets, 1951, https://poets.org/poem/harlem.
Song Lyrics
Song lyrics follow the same quoting rules as poetry: slash notation for up to three lines, block quotation for four or more, and line numbers if you're analyzing specific lines.
Works Cited Entry for a Song
Treat the songwriter as the author. The song title goes in quotation marks; the album title is the container in italics:
Works Cited:
Mitchell, Joni. "A Case of You." Blue, Reprise Records, 1971.
In-text citation:
(Mitchell)
Song Accessed on a Streaming Platform
If you listened to the song on Spotify, Apple Music, or another streaming service, include the platform as a second container:
Works Cited:
Lamar, Kendrick. "Alright." To Pimp a Butterfly, Top Dawg Entertainment, 2015. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/track/3iVcZ5G6tvkXZkZKlMpIUs.
In-text citation:
(Lamar)
Copyright Caution
Song lyrics are copyrighted, and reproducing them at length can raise legal issues — especially in published writing. For a classroom paper, quoting a few lines for analysis typically falls under fair use. But if you're publishing your work (online, in a journal, or in a book), you may need permission from the rights holder. When in doubt, paraphrase the lyrics and cite the recording instead of quoting verbatim.
Quoting Drama (Verse Plays)
Verse plays — Shakespeare, Marlowe, Molière in verse translation — have their own Works Cited formats, in-text citation rules, and block-quotation conventions. For the complete guide to citing published plays, verse drama, prose plays, and live performances, see How to Cite a Play in MLA Format.
In-Text Citation Quick Reference
| Source Type | Works Cited Starts With | In-Text Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Poem (single-author collection) | Oliver, Mary. "The Summer Day." | (Oliver, lines 1–2) |
| Poem (anthology) | Brooks, Gwendolyn. "We Real Cool." | (Brooks, lines 1–4) |
| Poem (website) | Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." | (Angelou, lines 1–3) |
| Song (album) | Mitchell, Joni. "A Case of You." | (Mitchell) |
| Song (streaming) | Lamar, Kendrick. "Alright." | (Lamar) |
| Verse play | Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. | (3.1.56–59) — see plays guide |
Common Mistakes
- Using page numbers instead of line numbers. For poetry, always cite line numbers — not page numbers. Write "lines" in your first citation so the reader knows.
- Forgetting the word "lines" in the first citation. Without it, the reader might think the numbers refer to pages. Write (lines 1–3) the first time; then (5–7) after that.
- Omitting spaces around the slash. The slash in inline poetry quotations has a space on each side: "word / word" — not "word/word."
- Using slash notation for 4+ lines. If you're quoting four or more lines, switch to a block quotation. Slash notation becomes unreadable with long passages.
- Adding quotation marks to a block quotation. Block quotations don't use quotation marks — the indentation signals that it's a quotation.
- Citing the anthology editor as the poem's author. The poet is the author. The editor is credited in the container information.
What's Next
Now that you know how to cite poetry and song lyrics, explore related guides:
- How to Cite a Play in MLA Format — citing published plays, verse drama, and live performances
- How to Use Block Quotes in MLA Format — the complete guide to short and long quotations
- MLA In-Text Citations — the full author-page citation system
- How to Cite a Book in MLA Format — for citing poetry collections and anthologies
Archivero can help you manage your poetry sources — save a poem page or anthology to your library, and the Works Cited entry is generated automatically with the correct container formatting.
