Multiple entries in “Works Cited” are arranged chronologically.

We use these abbreviations for works by John Milton:

1637
A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle (1637).

1645
Poems of Mr. John Milton (1645).

1667
Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books (1667).

1671
Paradise Regained. A Poem in IV Books. To which is added Samson Agonistes (1671).

1674
Paradise Lost. A Poem in Twelve Books. The Second Edition … (1674).

BMS
Bridgewater manuscript of Masque.

CMS
Manuscript of poems by Milton at Trinity College, Cambridge.

MLM
The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton, ed. William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon. Modern Library edition: New York, 2007.

Yale
Complete Prose Works of John Milton, ed. Don M. Wolfe et al. (8 vols., Yale Univ. Press, 1953–80).

Apology
An Apology for Smectymnuus

Areop
Areopagitica

CD
Christian Doctrine

Damon
Epitaph for Damon

DDD
The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce

Eikon
Eikonoklastes

El
Elegy

Il Pens
Il Penseroso

L’All
L’Allegro

Lyc
Lycidas

Masque
A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle.

Nat Ode
Nativity Ode

Of Ed
Of Education

Of Ref
Of Reformation

PL
Paradise Lost

PR
Paradise Regained

Pro
Prolusion

RCG
The Reason of Church Government Urged Against Prelaty

REW
The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth

SA
Samson Agonistes

Son
Sonnet

1Def
Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio (First Defense of the English People)

2Def
Defensio Secunda (Second Defense of the English People)

TKM
The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates

Citations to Milton’s prose refer either to the MLM or, for passages not included in the Modern Library Milton, to the volume and page number of the Yale edition.

We use the following abbreviations for works by Shakespeare:

AWW
All’s Well That Ends Well

ANT
Antony and Cleopatra

AYL
As You Like It

COR
Coriolanus

CYM
Cymbeline

HAM
Hamlet

1H4
The First Part of King Henry the Fourth

2H4
The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth

H5
King Henry the Fifth

LR
King Lear

R3
King Richard the Third

JC
Julius Caesar

LLL
Love’s Labor’s Lost

MAC
Macbeth

MM
Measure for Measure

MV
The Merchant of Venice

MND
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

ADO
Much Ado About Nothing

OTH
Othello

PER
Pericles

LUC
The Rape of Lucrece

ROM
Romeo and Juliet

TMP
The Tempest

TIM
Timon of Athens

TRO
Troilus and Cressida

TN
Twelfth Night

VEN
Venus and Adonis

WT
The Winter’s Tale

Unless otherwise indicated, we quote the Bible from the AV (King James Version), and use standard abbreviations when referring to its books; we sometimes cite Geneva (The Geneva Bible, 1588). Classical works are cited with standard abbreviations, such as, prominently, Il. and Od. for Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Ec. and Aen. for Vergil’s Eclogues and Aeneid, and Her. and Met. for Ovid’s Heroides and Metamorphoses.

We use these abbreviations for works by the following authors:

Torquato Tasso, GL
Gerusalemme Liberata

Ludovico Ariosto, OF
Orlando Furioso

Edmund Spenser, SC, FQ
The Shepheardes Calender, The Faerie Queene

A CHRONOLOGY OF MILTON’S LIFE

1608 (December 9) John Milton born on Bread Street in London.
1615 (November 24?) Brother Christopher born.
1620 (?) Enters St. Paul’s School under the headmastership of Alexander Gill, Sr. Begins his friendship with Charles Diodati. Thomas Young tutors Milton at home.
1625 (February 12) Admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge.
1629 (March 26) Receives his B.A. degree. In December writes On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.
1632 (July 3) Receives his M.A. degree. Retires to his father’s country house at Hammersmith for continued study.
1634 (September 29) A Masque performed at Ludlow Castle in Wales.
1635 or 36 Moves with his parents to Horton.
1637 A Masque published (dated 1637 but possibly published in 1638). Mother, Sara, dies in Horton on April 3. Lycidas written in November and published the next year.
1638–9 Milton tours the Continent from April or May 1638 to July or August 1639.