The uncertain world of Samson Agonistes / John T. Shawcross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shawcross, John T.

Series:

Studies in Renaissance literature (Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) ; v. 6.

Studies in Renaissance literature, 1465-6310 ; v. 6

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Milton, John, 1608-1674. Samson Agonistes.

Milton, John.

Samson (Biblical judge)--In literature.

Samson.

Samson (Biblical judge).

Physical Description:

ix, 158 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge, UK ; Rochester, NY : D.S. Brewer, 2001.

Summary:

Shawcross proposes that the many ambiguities surrounding Milton's dramatic poem Samson Agonistes are intentional: the actual words, the dates of composition, the genre, and the characters -- particularly Samson and Dalila but including Manoa, Harapha, and the Chorus. Ambiguity also lies in Milton's presentation of political issues both philosophical and practical, his treatment of gender concepts, the constant questioning of the reader, and the poem's effect. Discussing all these elements, Shawcross follows with a detailed reading of the text which argues that it remains purposefully ambiguous, reflecting Milton's own recognition of the uncertainty of the content, and suggesting that Milton himself would question some of the nice 'solutions' that modem scholarship has offered in the last two decades.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The World of Samson Agonistes 1

Chapter 2 Uncertainty and the Text 17

Chapter 3 The Dramatic Work and its Reading 35

Chapter 4 Samson: God's Champion, a Type, or Individual? 48

Chapter 5 Dalila: Seductress or Wife? 63

Chapter 6 Politics in the Destabilized Text 81

Chapter 7 Biographical Intrusion 92

Chapter 8 The Uncertainties of Irony 102

Chapter 9 A Hermeneutics of the Text 102

Chapter 10 Samson Agonistes and Consistencies of Belief 138.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 145-152) and index.

ISBN:

085991609X

OCLC:

44713134