Parenthetical Citations – Poetry MLA style
• When using part or all of a single line of poetry, put it in quotation marks within your
text. Two or three lines may be incorporated this way with a (/) to separate them.
Bradstreet frames the poem with a sense of mortality: “All things within this fading world
hat end” (1).
• Poetry quotations of more than three lines should begin a new line. Indent each line one
inch from the left margin and double-space between lines. Do not use quotation marks
unless they’re in the original.
Eg. Elizabeth Bishop’s “In the Waiting Room” is rich in evocative detail:
It was winter. It got dark
early. The waiting room
was full of grown-up people,
arctics and overcoats,
lamps and magazines. (6-10) When quoting poetry these numbers refer to
line numbers.
Parenthetical Citations – Prose MLA style
• If a prose quotation runs no more than four lines and requires no special emphasis, put it
in quotation marks and incorporate it into the text.
The eighteenth century was both “the best of times” and “the worst of times” (Dickens
35).
• If the quotation runs more than four lines in your paper, set it off from your text by
beginning a new line, indenting one inch from the left margin, and typing it double-
spaced, without adding quotation marks. A colon generally introduces a quotation
displayed in this way.
Eg. At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of
their actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to
them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of
grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the
island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to
shake and sob too. ( Golding 186)
When quoting prose, the numbers refer to page numbers
