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BestsellerE-book
Author Wood, Derek N. C.

Title "Exiled from light" : divine law, morality, and violence in Milton's Samson Agonistes / Derek N.C. Wood.

Publication Info. Toronto, Ont. : University of Toronto Press, [2001]
©2001

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (xxii, 247 pages)
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary Despite considerable general disagreement about the meaning of Milton's Samson Agonistes, literary critics have largely come to view, Samson, as a saintly Christian hero, with attending themes of election, conversion and regeneration. In a challenge to this dominant interpretation, Derek Wood proposes that Milton's protagonist is actually an emblematic embodiment of Old Testament consciousness as a rigorous, incomplete, literalistic and uncomprehending, fashioned by the old Mosaic Law, without the amelioration of Christ's charity and forgiveness. Wood begins by surveying and evaluating the critical literature on Samson Agonistes of the past fifty years, then challenges these readings through a comprehensive textual and formal analysis. He argues for a thorough understanding of Artistotle's theory of tragedy, in which Milton's practice was anchored and draws cogently on early modern European commentaries as well as contemporary re-evaluations of Aristotle's Poetics to clarify Milton's approach. Wood's contribution reconciles the orthodox interpretation of Samson as a Christian saint with the revisionist emphasis on his murderous brutality. The author's analysis corrects a number of errors made by previous Milton scholars, shows how Dalila has been consistently misread and decodes the politics of the tragedy in the context of Milton's final years as an aging, failed revolutionary.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Samson (Biblical judge) -- In literature.
Samson (Biblical judge)
Milton, John, 1608-1674. Samson Agonistes.
Samson, Biblical judge.
Milton, John, 1608-1674.
Samson (Juge biblique) dans la littérature.
Milton, John.
Milton, John, 1608-1674. Samson Agonistes.
Samson (Juge biblique) dans la littérature.
Samson Agonistes (Milton, John)
Milton, John -- Samson Agonistes.
Milton, John. Samson Agonistes.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Other Form: Print version: Wood, Derek N.C. "Exiled from light". Toronto, Ont. : University of Toronto Press, ©2001 9786612033810 (DLC) 2001273691 (OCoLC)44943676
ISBN 9781442674714 (electronic book)
1442674717 (electronic book)
1282033816
9781282033818
080204848X (bound)
9780802048486