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Exiled From Light : Divine Law, Morality, and Violence in Milton's Samson Agonistes / Derek N.C. Wood.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2001]Copyright date: ©2001Description: 1 online resource (276 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780802048486
  • 9781442674714
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 822/.4 22
LOC classification:
  • PR3566 .W66 2000eb
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: 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.
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eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781442674714

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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.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 01. Nov 2023)