Samson Agonistes was published in 1671, along with Paradise Regained. The title of the latter work echoes Milton's most famous work, Paradise Lost (1667) – although it would not be quite right to describe it as a sequel. Both works are about Biblical temptation: in the case of Paradise Regained it's the temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness, while Paradise Lost is concerned with the Fall of Man (the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan, and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.)
Agonistes is a 'grecianised' (that is a word, if you consult the right sources!) version of the English word 'agonist', which means 'someone engaged in a struggle'. It's where we get 'protagonist' and 'antagonist', words that refer to opposing characters in a novel or other story form. The original Greek root is agon, meaning a struggle – hence also the English word 'agony'.
Wikipedia describes Samson Agonistes not as a poem but as "a tragic closet drama" – that is, a play that's not intended to be performed on a stage but to be read by a solitary reader, or sometimes out loud in a small group. The play focuses on the consequences of Samson's desire for his wife Dalila (Delilah), and his betrayal by her. At the beginning of the play, Samson has been captured by the Philistines, had his hair cut off (thus losing his prodigious strength) and his eyes cut out. He is "Eyeless in Gaza, at the Mill with slaves ... Blind among enemies, O worse than chains".
The Chorus – Samson's Hebrew friends – try to console him, but to no avail. Samson is visited by his father, Manoah, who undertakes to negotiate with the Philistines for his son's release.
Then Dalila appears, and apologises for betraying him. But Samson is not impressed; he says some insulting things to her, and she leaves in a fury.
Finally, the Philistine giant Harapha visits Samson and begins to mock him; he wishes Samson were in better physical condition, so they could fight, but he will not fight a blind man. They swap insults, and Harapha eventually leaves in a huff.
Next, a messenger appears, saying that Samson has been ordered to perform at a Philistine festival. Samson refuses, saying he feels that he's meant to go and perform a great deed. He leaves, just missing his father – who announces that he has successfully bribed some Philistine leaders and can now take Samson home.
Just as the Chorus is about to celebrate this good news, they hear a horrible shriek. Another messenger runs in and reports that Samson has killed both himself and the entire Philistine elite by toppling the roof of the theatre.
Manoa and the Chorus are overjoyed to hear that their enemy has been defeated, but distraught over the death of Samson. In the end they go off to look for the body of their hero, and Manoa promises to build Samson a magnificent tomb.
In 1936, Aldous Huxley used Eyeless in Gaza as the title of what has been described as his one great novel. But there is no obvious connection between the novel and Milton's drama. As one commentator observed (having presumably failed to spot the reference), "there is no one blind in the book, and no one even mentions Gaza. Someone does loose (sic) a leg while visiting Mexico. Legless in Mexico?"
© Haydn Thompson 2022