ENG 102: Persuasion
Fall 2014
Dr. Sean Homer
Annotated Bibliography: Preparation and Guidelines
What is an Annotated Bibliography and how does it differ from a works cited or
standard bibliography?
 An Annotated Bibliography is not just a listing of works in Modern Language
Association (MLA) format.
 The Annotated Bibliography includes comments on how you may use particular
research items to contribute to your paper. This will include all works consulted
in compiling the bibliography, including those that you found disappointing, out
of date or biased and will not be using in the final paper.
 Be sure to give each work a fair evaluation. Some older works may contribute a
perspective that is now lost, or remain central texts in recent debates.
What is the objective and what will I learn from creating an Annotated
Bibliography?
 You will learn how to evaluate and utilize your research sources and to create a
better paper as a result.
 You will improve your ability to read for meaning.
 You will gain an overview of the range of information and viewpoints affecting a
particular subject.
An Annotated Bibliography evaluates your collected research based upon what each
work can contribute to your paper. The preparation process helps you to recognize what
you want to accomplish and to write a well-supported paper.
Where can I learn more about Annotated Bibliographies?
 Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Print.
 Barnet, Sylvan, Pat Bellanca and Marcia Stubbs. A Short Guide to College
Writing. 4th ed. New York: Penguin Academics, 2010. Print.
Further information on writing research papers and Annotated Bibliographies at this
website:
http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/annotated.shtml
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This sample MLA Annotated Bibliography is based on print sources only, the purpose is
to illustrate the kinds of comments you should write.
Contemporary Influences upon John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Later Works
Annotated Bibliography
Cary, John, ed. Complete Shorter Poems of John Milton. London: Longman, 1971. Print.
This work contains references to Milton’s initial reasons for writing Paradise
Regained. Other works bring out the same material, but this additional evidence
could be used to help support my thesis.
Darbishire, Helen, ed. The Early Lives of Milton. 1932. New York: Barnes and Noble,
1965. Print.
This work contains references to Milton’s writing of Paradise Regained in
response to negative reactions to Paradise Lost. This work contains a specific
quote from Milton’s nephew that does not appear in Parker’s autobiography.
Ferry, Anne Davidson. Milton and the Miltonic Dryden. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1968.
Print.
This work contains background information and quotations from Dryden in which
he praises Milton’s poetic skills but predates William Blake in questioning
whether Satan not Adam is the real hero of Paradise Lost.
Hill, Christopher. The Century of Revolution: 1603-1714. New York: Norton, 1980.
Print.
This work contains background information on the Interregnum and the failure of
Cromwell’s Commonwealth, for which Milton had written a justification of the
overthrow of Charles I.
Hill, Christopher. The Experience of Defeat: Milton and Some Contemporaries. New
York: Viking, 1984. Print.
Here, Hill speculates on Milton’s state of mind when he abandoned his original
plan to write an epic of Arthurian England and instead wrote Paradise Lost as an
attempt to accept the defeat as part of God’s plan.
Knight, Stephen. “‘Quite Another Man’: The Restoration Robin Hood.” Playing Robin
Hood: The Legend as Performance in Five Centuries. Ed. Lois Potter, Newark: U
of Delaware Press, 1998. Print.
This unusual work shows the caution of some writers after 1760. The Restoration
Robin Hood is depicted as gentle, kindly, and loyal to Charles II. Knight’s book
helps to position Milton’s anxiety following the restoration to the British throne of
the son of the king whose execution Milton had supported.
Miller, Timothy C, ed. The Critical Response to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Westport,
CN: Greenwood, 1997. Print.
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This writer has gathered critical reactions to Paradise Lost, finding widespread
clerical objection to the Classical allusions within Paradise Lost. He also finds
instances of other poets objecting to the epic style and elevated language.
However, he indicates that by the late 1790s, several years after Milton’s death,
Paradise Lost was generally acclaimed a classic. This work represents a useful
collection of reactions to Paradise Lost.
Milton, John. Selected Works: Paradise Lost. 1667. Paradise Regained. 1671. Samson
Agonistes. 1671. The Oxford Authors: John Milton. Ed. Stephen Orgel and
Jonathan Goldberg. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1993. 355-715. Print.
While Paradise Lost will be the main subject of this paper, Paradise Regained
shows Milton’s attempt to pacify both those who objected to Classical allusions
and those who wanted a “paradise found.” By contrast, Samson Agonistes appears
to have been written last as Milton’s justification of his own life and his support
of what had seemed God’s plan for the Interregnum. So, all three works are
essential to this paper.
.
Parker, William Riley. Milton: A Biography. Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon, 1968. Print.
Parker’s biography includes both the seventeenth-century request for a “paradise
found” rather than a “paradise lost” and the comment by Milton’s nephew that the
author seemed initially pleased with Paradise Regained. These comments help to
support the widespread view that Milton wrote Paradise Regained before Samson
Agonistes, although both works were published in the same year.
Rajan, B. Paradise Lost and The Seventeenth Century Reader. 1947. Ann Arbor: U of
Michigan P, 1967. Print.
Although this work is about 40 years old, it is eloquently written and frequently
cited among Milton scholars for its evocation of John Milton as the last
Renaissance man able to articulate all fields of knowledge (science, history,
religion, politics) in poetry. Rajan conveys the respect that Milton’s intellect
evoked from his contemporaries.
Warton, Joseph. An Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope. Vol. I. 1782. NY:
Garland, 1970. Print.
Warton, an eighteenth century literary critic, comments that the Restoration
emphasis upon light drama and comedy placed serious religious works out of
fashion (names Paradise Lost specifically). This may help to explain some of the
criticisms of the work during Milton’s lifetime.
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