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How to Cite a Poem Stanza in Text in APA Format

Poetry can be serious business. Shakespeare's "Hamlet" ends with four deaths and Shakespeare's fellow Elizabethan dramatist, Christopher Marlowe, died mysteriously in a barroom brawl. But the scholarship of poetry need not be so dangerous and whether you are studying the poetry of Shakespeare or even Baudelaire you will want to cite your sources with care. The American Psychological Association (APA) in its publication handbook provides guidelines for the proper in-text citation of scholarly sources. Follow the APA when you are citing stanzas of poetry in the text of your paper or article.

Instructions

    • 1

      Begin your in-text citation of a poem stanza in APA style by writing the title of the poem you are citing in quotation marks. For example, write--The development is cogent, as we find in "Dover Beach."

    • 2

      Place an opening parenthesis after the closing quotation mark followed by the last name of the poem's author and a comma. For example, write--The development is cogent, as we find in "Dover Beach" (Arnold.

    • 3

      Write the publication date of the volume of poetry you are citing, followed by a comma. For example, write--The development is cogent, as we find in "Dover Beach" (Arnold, 1983.

    • 4

      Write the word "stanza" followed by the number of the stanza you are citing. For example, write--The development is cogent, as we find in "Dover Beach" (Arnold, 1983, stanza 3.

    • 5

      Place a closing parenthesis followed by a period at the end of your citation. For example, write--The development is cogent, as we find in "Dover Beach" (Arnold, 1983, stanza 3).

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