Milton, Satan, and Religious Tyranny: Annotated Bibliography

Alright so here's my revised working thesis. "Milton channels his own views and personality into Satan in order to create a more human version of the devil as opposed to the previous versions of the devil in Christian literature. Milton creates this new form of Satan in order to make a political statement against the tyranny of the monarchy in the Church." I'm still working on what exactly Milton is fighting against in the Church. 


1. Social Graph 
--My Mom: She has a lot of knowledge about history and politics, and she's always been interested in my ideas. I think she will be helpful in helping me gain a better understanding of what was going on during the time of Milton. 
--Cheri: Roommate and fellow English major. I tend to bounce ideas with her and see how they may look from another english Major's point of view. Cheri's been helpful in narrowing down my thesis and giving me ideas. 
--Alec Smith: Business friend. He responded to my post on Facebook. His business tendencies had him focusing on how I was saying certain things, so he's been giving me advice on wording my thesis in a way that it doesn't give the wrong idea. 
--Mona Farnsworth: high school english teacher. I plan to talk to her about Paradise Lost and how she may view it from a teaching/ high school point of view. It could be interesting to see how she views it. 

2. New Media 
--DeviantArt.com: I found some art that amateurs have done on Paradise Lost that I found to be very interesting. One portrays Satan in a very sympathetic and human light. It was interesting to see how artists are looking at Paradise Lost and Satan in a new light. 

http://22zddr.deviantart.com/art/Paradise-Lost-70808057

http://www.deviantart.com/art/lost-paradise-183412936

http://misseyez.deviantart.com/art/Paradise-Lost-321154622

--Youtube: I found some interesting videos, one being a presentation of Paradise Lost using whiteboard drawings and stopmotion. It's a simplified summary, but it's interesting to watch. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLnw9VWqJjM

I also found a lecture by a professor, who could give me some insight to the character Satan. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GcY5WrMlWs#t=18

3. Social Network 

--Academia.org:  This community helped me connect to professors and people who have published works on Milton. 

Some people I found were: 

Frank Mattern 

Jeffrey Shoulson

Joad Raymond 

--Twitter: I used it to find various groups and people. Through it, I connected to other sources, like the Digital Public Library of America. I've also been able to connect to other universities, like St Hilda's College at Oxford, Newcastle University, and the University of Surrey. These have helped me find professors like Dr Margeret Kean, who are well known in their research and can help me. 

--Miltonsociety.org: This community provided lots of sources and ideas of Milton, especially previous published articles on John Milton. Here I found a good article by Joan S Bennett that could be helpful. 

--Johnmilton.org: This community was great, especially their discussion board. They provided some interesting insight to Milton and interacted with each other. 

--Milton Quarterly: this is a great source to find articles on Milton. They have all the different volumes and issues and it's easy to search through. I haven't gone through it a lot, but I plan to. 

4. Traditional Scholarly Sources: 

I've found various articles and professors that I believe will help me. I found these sources through various websites that I listed above, particularly Miltonsociety.org and academia.org. I also looked through BYU library's databases. 

Frank Mattern. Milton and Christian Hebraism: Rabbinic Exegesis in Paradise Lost. Anglistiche Forschungen 399. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag, 2009. 226 pp. index. €38. ISBN: 978–3–8253–5570–8.

This article will likely help me in how Milton may have viewed his church and other religions. May just consult this to get an idea of how Milton viewed religion. 

Milton and the Rabbis: Hebraism, Hellenism, and Christianity. By Jeffrey S. Shoulson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001

This article will help me see Milton's look into Christianity and how he views it. 

Bennett, Joan S. “God, Satan, and King Charles: Milton’s Royal Portraits,” PMLA, 92 (1977):441-457

I would use this one to show that Milton uses Satan as a political figure. This one has some good quotes I could use. 

Michael Erik Bryson. The Tyranny of Heaven: Milton's Rejection of God as King. Newark and London: University of Delaware Press/AUP, 2004

This article will help show how Milton questions elements of his church and the idea of mixing church and state. 

Anushiravani, Alireza. "The Image of Satan in Rumi's 'Mathnawi,' Dante's 'Divine Comedy' and Milton's 'Paradise Lost'." Order No. DA9236390 U of Illinois, Urbana, ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2013

I'll use this article to show how Satan has been portrayed differently in the past compared to Milton's Satan. 

Loewenstein, David. "The Radical Religious Politics of Paradise Lost." A Companion to Milton, edited by Corns, Thomas N,  348-362. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2001.

I can use this to show examples of Milton fighting religious politics using Satan.