Do I cite line numbers or page numbers for a poem?

Line numbers, in MLA — (Frost 1–2). Write 'lines' the first time, then just the numbers. Use page numbers only if the poem has no line numbering and you're pointing to a printed page.

How do I quote a few lines of poetry inline?

Up to three lines run in your sentence with a slash ( / ) at each line break, inside quotation marks. Four or more lines become an indented block quote with original line breaks.

How do I cite a poem I found online?

Treat the website as the container: poet, poem title in quotes, site name, date, URL. The line-number rule for quoting still applies.

What if the poem is in the poet's own book?

Cite it like a book — the collection is the work. If you're citing one poem specifically, name it in your text and reference the collection.

How to Cite a Poem

Updated October 2026

How you cite a poem depends on where you found it: in an anthology, in the poet's own collection, or online. The citation points to that container; the poem is the piece inside it. Quoting verse then has its own small rules — line numbers and slashes.

The format (poem in an anthology)

MLA: Poet Last, First. “Poem Title.” Anthology Title, edited by Editor, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx. APA: Poet, P. (Year). Poem title. In E. Editor (Ed.), Anthology title (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.

Poem (from a collection) — MLA 9

Frost, Robert. The Road Not Taken. Henry Holt, 1916.

In-text(Frost)

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Citation style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020). The 7th dropped the publisher location and the "Retrieved from" prefix that the 6th required.

Where you found it changes the container

In an anthology — the anthology is the container, with its editors and the poem's page range.
In the poet's own collection — cite it like a book; the collection title is the work.
Online — the website is the container; add the URL (and access date where the style wants it).
A single famous poem discussed as a work — you may cite the collection and reference lines in-text.

Quoting verse

Run up to three lines into your sentence with slashes marking line breaks: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both" (Frost 1–2). Four or more lines become a block quote that preserves the original line breaks, indented, no quotation marks. Cite by line numbers, not page numbers — (Frost 1–2) — and write "lines 1–2" the first time to establish you're counting lines.

In-text citations

MLA: (Frost 1–2) — line numbers. APA: (Frost, 1916, line 5) for a quote. If the poem is famous enough to cite by structure, that's still fine; just be consistent.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I cite line numbers or page numbers for a poem?: Line numbers, in MLA — (Frost 1–2). Write 'lines' the first time, then just the numbers. Use page numbers only if the poem has no line numbering and you're pointing to a printed page.
How do I quote a few lines of poetry inline?: Up to three lines run in your sentence with a slash ( / ) at each line break, inside quotation marks. Four or more lines become an indented block quote with original line breaks.
How do I cite a poem I found online?: Treat the website as the container: poet, poem title in quotes, site name, date, URL. The line-number rule for quoting still applies.
What if the poem is in the poet's own book?: Cite it like a book — the collection is the work. If you're citing one poem specifically, name it in your text and reference the collection.

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