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How to Embed Lines From a Poem

As with other quotations and excerpts, there are two major ways to embed poetry into the text of an expository paper or other work. One is for short quotes of poetry, and the other is for longer quotes. When embedding poetry into prose, it is important to acknowledge line breaks, since they are of such importance to the meter -- and often the meaning -- of the poem. Following a few simple rules from the Modern Language Association Manual can go a long way to preventing confusion and aiding in an accurate presentation of the material.

Instructions

  1. Three Lines or Fewer

    • 1
      Include commas even next to a slash mark if they appeared in the poem.

      Type the text you wish to quote, placing a " / " where a line break would be. Include commas and periods.

    • 2

      Surround this text with quotation marks.

    • 3

      Add an ellipses in place of an omission from one of the lines.

    • 4

      Place the line numbers of the poem in parentheses outside of the quotation marks. If the sentences ends there, place the period after the line numbers.

    Four Lines or More

    • 5
      Follow your class style guide for block quote indentation.

      Indent as much as you would for a block quote.

    • 6

      Change spacing to single spacing.

    • 7

      Type the poem as it appears on the original page. For example, if one line begins in the middle of the page, follow suit in your reprint. Try to emulate the original as much as possible.

    • 8

      Add the poem's quoted line numbers at the end of the poem, either on the final line or on the next line below, in parentheses.

    • 9

      Insert ellipses for a missing part of one line, but if you are omitting an entire line or more, use an entire line of ellipses to represent the missing lines. The line of ellipses should be about the same length as the poem's other lines.

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Poetry

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