: Re: Is an MLA citation needed for a broad description of a poem's theme? I'm trying to figure out whether I need to cite these poems or not. “Out, Out—” has its morbid description of

@Sent2472441

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In general, citations are pretty much required any time you use or reference someone else's work in a scholarly or academic paper. If you're writing a popular article, then it's far more questionable.

In this case, I would certainly include citations. A citation serves two purposes: 1. It acknowledges that a work is not your own, so that you are not claiming credit for someone else's work. And 2. It gives the reader sufficient information to find the original and read it for himself. In this case, if you're discussing a poem, it is unlikely that people would think you had written the poem yourself. But they might very well want to look up the original and read it in its entirely, they might want to see other poems in the same collection for comparison, etc.

In this case, if you are discussing the poem in its entirely, then there's no meaning in giving line numbers. Just reference the entire poem.

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