how to quote an epic poem in essay

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How to Cite an Epic

Whether you're using American Psychological Association or Modern Language Association format, citing an epic in your paper can seem like a daunting task. Unlike other forms of literature, epics are often written in foreign languages and thus require translators. Some epics, such as "Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," are anonymous, adding an extra layer of complexity to citation attempts. You can cite an epic in your paper by combining the rules for citing a translated work of literature with the rules for citing a poem.

Cite the epic in-text by writing the author's last name in parentheses. After the author's name, write the number of the book or canto from which you drew the information, a period and the line number you're citing. '},{'content':'For example: Astyanax does not recognize Hector when he wears his helmet (Homer 6.556-562).

If the epic doesn't use books or cantos, simply write the line number.

Use Arabic numerals even if the book uses Roman numerals; for instance, if your translation of "The Inferno" says "Canto XXVII," you would write "27."

Write the title of the epic in place of the author's name if the epic is anonymous, but follow the same rules otherwise.

For instance: As a descendant of Cain, Grendel is related to "monsters and elves and the walking dead,/ And also those giants who fought against God" ("Beowulf" 112-113).

Cite the epic in the Works Cited page by writing the author's last name, a comma and his first name. If he has only one name, such as Homer or Virgil, write only that name. If the epic is anonymous, do not write anything for the author. Write the italicized title of the epic followed by a period. Write "Ed." followed by the name of the editor and a period, then write "Trans." and the name of the translator, if any. Write the location of publication, a colon, the publisher, a comma, the year of publication and a period, then "Print."

For instance: Beowulf. Ed. and trans. Howell D. Chickering, Jr. New York, New York: Doubleday, 1977. Print.

Cite the epic in-text by writing the author's name, a comma, the year of your edition's publication, and the page you are citing in parentheses. If you mention the author's name in-text, write the year in parentheses after his name, but keep the page number at the end of the sentence.

For instance: Astyanax does not recognize Hector when he wears his helmet (Homer, 1990, p. 211).

For instance: As a descendant of Cain, Grendel is related to "monsters and elves and the walking dead,/ And also those giants who fought against God" ("Beowulf," 1977, p. 55).

Cite the epic in your References section by writing the author's last name, a comma and the author's first initial. If the author has only one name, such as Virgil or Homer, simply write the author's name. Write the year of publication in parentheses, then write the italicized title of the epic. In parentheses, write the editor's initial and last name followed by "Ed.", then the translator's initial and last name followed by "Trans." Write the location of publication, a colon and the publisher.

For instance: Homer. (1990). The Iliad. (B. Knox, Ed. R. Fagles, Trans.) New York, NY: Penguin Classics.

Cite an anonymous epic following the same rules, but put the epic's italicized title before the year of publication in place of the author.

For instance: Beowulf. (1977). (H.D. Chickering, Ed. and Trans.) New York, NY: Doubleday.

• Valencia College; MLA Format and Documentation: In-Text Citations
• W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.: APA Style

A resident of the Baltimore area, Rachel Kolar has been writing since 2001. Her educational research was featured at the Maryland State Department of Education Professional Schools Development Conference in 2008. Kolar holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Kenyon College and a Master of Arts in teaching from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

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How to Quote a Poem in APA Referencing

3-minute read

• 31st July 2019

Many style guides have special rules for quoting poetry in an essay . In this post, for example, we will look at how to quote a poem using APA referencing. This will cover:

• How to present quoted verse on the page
• How to format in-text citations for a poem in APA referencing

If you are writing about poetry, then, make sure to follow the rules below.

How to Quote a Poem

The basic rules for quoting a line of poetry are the same as for quoting any other source. As such, to quote a poem, you should:

• Place the quoted text within quotation marks.
• Cite the author’s surname and year of publication in brackets.
• If available, include a page number for the quoted passage.

Otherwise, a single line of poetry will look like any other quote.

If you’re quoting two lines from a poem, though, you will need to include a include a forward slash to show where the line break was in the original text. A two-line quotation would therefore look like this:

One of the most famous examples of nonsense poetry is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” which begins thus: “The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea / In a beautiful pea-green boat” (Lear, 1871/1983, p. 34).

Here, we’re quoting the first two lines of an Edward Lear poem (we include two dates because this is a republished version of the original work). The page numbers in the citation, meanwhile, show us where this poem appears in the book.

Quoting Three or More Lines of Poetry

If you’re using more than two lines from a poem, present it as a block quote . Ideally, you will recreate the presentation of the lines on the page from the original source:

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The final stanza begins with an interspecies wedding: “Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling    Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.” So they took it away, and were married next day    By the Turkey who lives on the hill. (Lear, 1871/1983, p. 34)

Here, for example, we indent the second and final lines more than the rest of the quote. This is because the original poem is presented in the same way.

Furthermore, as with any APA block quote, the citation here comes after the final punctuation in the quote, not before it.

Adding a Poem to an APA Reference List

Finally, if you quote a poem anywhere in your work, it should also appear in the reference list at the end of your document. The correct reference format to use, however, will depend on how the poem was published:

• For long poems published as standalone works, use the standard book format . You can do this for anthologies with a single author, too, but make sure to name the editor as well as the author of the poems themselves.
• List poems published in an anthology as chapters from an edited book (i.e., include details for both poem and container volume).
• List a single poem found online as a web page .

Whatever their format, make sure to provide full publication information for all poems and their container volumes (i.e., the book or website where you found the poem). This will allow your reader to find them if required.

And if you need anyone to check your document for errors – including in citations and the reference list – don’t forget that we have expert academic proofreaders on hand and ready to help 24/7.

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