Citing Prose and Poetry

How to Cite Prose

(books, short stories, essays, etc.)

When citing an author, put the author's last name and page number in parenthesis after the sentence. Remember, (1) do NOT include a comma, and (2) put the period AFTER the entire sentence. Like this:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).


When including the author's name in the sentence itself, don not repeat it in the parenthetical citation. Like this:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

In both cases, the quotation should BE A PART OF YOUR SENTENCE. Like this:

As Weir examines Shane's bullet wounds, he reports that Shane is "alive all right" (Schaefer 146).

The quotation should NOT be jammed in there in its own sentence. Like this:

Weir examines Shane's bullet wounds and reports that Shane did not yet die. "He's alive all right" (Schaefer 146).

How to Cite Poetry

The rules for poetry differ from the rules for quoting prose in two key ways:

• Poetry requires writers to cite line numbers not page numbers.
• Poetry requires writers to keep line breaks in tact.

Use quotation marks around the quotation. Use a slash to indicate the break between lines. Put the line numbers in parentheses. Place the period at the end of the line number(s). Like this:

The speaker explains that he enjoys the little things in life, like going to the horse track and settling "for the 6 horse / on a rainy afternoon" (Bukowski 1-2).

Again, when including the author's name in the sentence itself, do not repeat it in the parenthetical citation. Like this:

Bukowski describes the simple pleasures in life, like going to the horse track and "settling for the 6 horse / on a rainy afternoon" (1-2).

Just like when citing prose, the quotation should NOT be jammed in there in its own sentence. Like this:

The speaker explains that he enjoys the little things in life, like betting at the horse track. "I'll settle for the 6 horse / on a rainy afternoon" (Bukowski 1-2).