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Could the Story of Samson Be True Or Is It Just a Myth

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Could the Story of Samson Be True Or Is It Just a Myth UNIVERZA V MARIBORU FILOZOFSKA FAKULTETA Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko DIPLOMSKO DELO Marija Vodopivec Maribor, 2014 UNIVERZA V MARIBORU FILOZOFSKA FAKULTETA Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko Diplomsko delo SAMSONOVA AGONIJA JOHNA MILTONA: KOMPARATIVNI PRISTOP K LIKU SAMSONU Graduation thesis MILTON’S SAMSON AGONISTES: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE CHARACTER OF SAMSON Mentor: izr. prof. dr. Michelle Gadpaille Kandidat: Marija Vodopivec Študijski program: Pedagogika in Angleški jezik s književnostjo Maribor, 2014 Lektor: Izr. Prof. Dr. Michelle Gadpaille AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my mentor, Dr. Michelle Gadpaille for her guidance and her valuable advice during my writing. I want to thank my parents, Drago and Agata for always supporting me and encouraging me during my studies. I want to thank my sister Marta and her husband Nino for always being there for me when I needed the most. I want to thank my big brother Marko and his lovely Tea for encouraging me and believing in me. I also want to thank my dear Denis for encouraging me, making me happy and for not graduating before me. FILOZOFSKA FAKULTETA Koroška cesta 160 2000 Maribor, Slovenija www.ff.um.si IZJAVA Podpisani-a MARIJA VODOPIVEC rojen-a 31.07.1988 študent-ka Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Mariboru, smer ANGLEŠKI JEZIK S KNJIŽEVNOSTJO IN PEDAGOGIKA, izjavljam, da je diplomsko delo z naslovom SAMSONOVA AGONIJA JOHNA MILTONA: KOMPARATIVNI PRISTOP K LIKU SAMSONU / MILTON’S SAMSON AGONISTES: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE CHARACTER OF SAMSON pri mentorju-ici IZR. PROF. DR. MICHELLE GADPAILLE, avtorsko delo. V diplomskem delu so uporabljeni viri in literatura korektno navedeni; teksti niso prepisani brez navedbe avtorjev. Kraj: MARIBOR Datum: 1.4.2014 __________________________________ (podpis študenta-ke) POVZETEK Diploma razpravlja o dramskem delu Johna Miltona Samson Agonistes. Zgodba je vzeta iz biblijske knjige Sodniki in govori o sodniku Samsonu, ki je sodil Izraelce 20 let. Glavni namen diplomske naloge je primerjati pripoved iz knjige Sodniki ter dela Johna Miltona. Še posebej bodo poudarjene vzporednice in razlike obeh del ter kako se je v obeh delih prepoznal pesnik sam. Milton in Samson sta si bila poddobna v nekaterih lastnostih, katere je Milton poudaril skozi dialoge. Kljub temu je več pozornosti namenil pesniški vrednosti pripovedi kot pa zgodovinski točnosti. Ključne besede: Samson, Dalila, Izraelci, Filistejci, čaščenje, nazirstvo, lasje ABSTRACT The graduation thesis presents Samson Agonistes, written by John Milton. The basics of this drama are taken from the biblical book of Judges. The main aim of this diploma is to compare the original story of Samson described in the biblical Book of Judges to John Milton’s Samson Agonistes. We will focus on parallels and differences in the two versions and how the poet himself is reflected in both of them. Milton and Samson shared some similar characteristics which he emphasized through the dialogues. Still, he put more emphasis on the poetic value of the poem than on historical accuracy of the story. Key words: Samson, Delilah, Israelites, Philistines, worship, Nazariteship, hair Table of Contents 1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................1 2. The Structure and the Background of the Samson Story........................................................4 3. Truth or Myth........................................................................................................................12 4. Naziriteship and Hair............................................................................................................15 5. Women in Samson’s Life......................................................................................................20 5.1. The Wife from Timna.....................................................................................................20 5.2. Delilah............................................................................................................................22 6. Motifs in Samson Agonistes..................................................................................................28 6.1. Religion..........................................................................................................................28 6.2. Wine and Water..............................................................................................................29 6.3. Gifts................................................................................................................................30 6.4. Silence............................................................................................................................31 6.5. Imprisonment and Justice..............................................................................................32 6.5. Light and Darkness........................................................................................................34 6.6. Animal Imagery.............................................................................................................36 6.7. Disease...........................................................................................................................40 7. Conclusion............................................................................................................................43 Works Cited...............................................................................................................................44 1. Introduction Biblical accounts have often served as a source and inspiration for poetic or prose works. One that stands out even today is Samson Agonistes (Milton, 1671), written by the English poet John Milton. The story originated in the biblical Book of Judges. Milton was inspired by Samson because of the parallels between them? First of all, it is a religious theme. Milton was a very religious man. He lived in a time when there was no such thing as religious freedom. He was aligned with the Puritanism movement, which “sought to purify the Church of England of remnants of the Catholic “popery” /…/” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Puritanism”). Milton was keen on the Bible. He believed that the Bible was God’s word and that by obeying laws from it one could live his best. It is well known that he read the Bible regularly. In the British museum where they keep Milton’s personal copy of the Bible, there are even underlined verses which he obviously studied carefully and used as ground for his discussions. De Doctrina Christiana is his Latin manuscript in which he thoroughly examined The Holy Scriptures and exposed the wrong teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism. In addition, Puritans believed that “it was necessary to be in a covenant relationship with God” (“Puritanism”). We can assume that Milton thought and hoped he was in a special relationship with God. One of the underlined verses is from the book of Psalms: “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (KJV, Psalms 2:12b). He apparently believed he would be blessed if he put faith in God’s commandments. That is a parallel with Samson, who was a Nazarite. That meant he enjoyed a special relationship with God. This diploma will discuss what that meant and how features of being a Nazarite are still influential in some social groups today. The most obvious parallel between Samson and Milton which will be discussed is their loss of eyesight. Samson was blinded by his enemies. Milton became totally blind by 1652. In a way he could connect with the character, since he knew how important eyesight is 1 and how awful it is when one loses it. Literal loss of eyesight is not the only thing the diploma will discuss. It will be interesting to find out what else this loss could mean. The final parallel between Samson and Milton is the women in their lives. Samson was betrayed by a woman with whom the Book of Judges says Samson was very much in love. Milton, on the other hand, did not experience such a drastic betrayal, but it was obvious his wife was the reason he did not like women. How do we know that? In most of his works women are portrayed in a negative sense. For example, in Samson Agonistes, Delilah has no chance to pass as a wife who cares for her husband. Samson Agonistes is not the only one of Milton’s works taken from the Bible. His most famous work is the epic poem Paradise Lost (Milton, 1667) based on the biblical account from Genesis. Interestingly, the story involves Eve, the first woman, who was responsible for the fall of man. She was blamed for the loss of paradise when she let the serpent seduce her. We should also mention Milton’s Areopagitica (Milton, 1644). In 1643 The Parliament required authors to have a license approved by the government before their work could be published /…/ This issue was personal for Milton as he had suffered censorship himself in his efforts to publish several tracts defending divorce (a radical stance which met with no favor from the censors). Areopagitica is full of biblical and classical references which Milton uses to strengthen his argument (Wikipedia, “Areopagitica”). 2 It is clear that Milton used the whole Bible as the source of divine information in every situation. For better understanding of the poem, it is beneficial and vital to clarify Milton’s biblical knowledge in general and of the Samson story. This diploma will discuss in detail how Milton’s personal faith and biblical knowledge is reflected in his
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