Samson Agonistes

Samson Agonistes is John Milton's dramatic poem based on the final period of Samson's life in the Book of Judges. Visits from Manoa, Dalila, and others bring different claims upon a captive figure struggling to understand his condition and calling. The form draws on Greek tragedy, with a chorus reflecting on the action and its moral implications. The conclusion is reported rather than enacted directly, preserving the distance between an overwhelming event and the judgments that follow it. Questions of responsibility and divine service remain central to the poem's tragic seriousness.