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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.

LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh. --- Milton, John, --- Samson --- Samson, --- Shimshon --- Shimshoni, --- Shimshūn --- Simson --- שמשוני --- שמשון --- In literature. --- Violence in literature. --- Ethics in literature. --- Bible and law. --- Law and the Bible --- Law --- Samson Agonistes (Milton, John) --- Milton's Samson Agonistes (Milton, John)

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Shawcross proposes that the many ambiguities surrounding Milton's dramatic poem Samson Agonistes are intentional: the actual words, the dates of composition, the genre, and the characters - particularly Samson and Dalila but including Manoa, Harapha, and the Chorus. Ambiguity also lies in Milton's presentation of political issues both philosophical and practical, his treatment of gender concepts, the constant questioning of the reader, and the poem's effect. Discussing all these elements, Shawcross follows with a detailed reading of the text which argues that it remains purposefully ambiguous, reflecting Milton's own recognition of the uncertainty of the content, and suggesting that Milton himself would question some of the nice 'solutions' that modern scholarship has offered in the last two decades. JOHN SHAWCROSS is Professor of English, Emeritus, University of Kentucky.

Belief and doubt in literature. --- Samson --- Milton, John, --- In literature. --- Samson, --- Shimshon --- Shimshoni, --- Shimshūn --- Simson --- שמשוני --- שמשון --- Enlightenment irreligion. --- Milton. --- Samson Agonistes. --- ambiguity. --- authorial intentions. --- dramatic poem. --- gender concepts. --- political issues. --- science. --- society. --- LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General.

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Although Renaissance scholars generally agree that Della Porta was the finest comic playwright of his generation in Italy, no detailed analysis of these plays and of their considerable influence outside Italy has previously appeared. One of the most famous men of his time in the field of scientific investigation, Della Porta wrote plays for relaxation and, on occasion, to camouflage controversial aspects of his scientific research from the Inquisitions. Today his works in science are largely forgotten and his right to fame rests on the plays. This book brings together the available facts of Della Porta's rich and often mysterious life and closely examines his dramatic works as part of the Italian literary scene in late Renaissance. Originally published in 1965.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

LITERARY CRITICISM / Drama. --- Porta, Giambattista della, --- Della Porta, Giambattista, --- Porta, Iean Baptiste, --- Porta, J. B. --- Porta, Jean-Batiste, --- Porta, Ioannes Baptista, --- Porta, Joannes Baptista, --- Porta, Iogann Baptist della, --- Porta, Giovanni Battista della, --- Porta, Gio. Battista dalla --- Porta, Io. Baptista --- Porta, Giovanbattista della, --- Porta, Johann Baptista, --- Porta, Giovambattista dalla, --- Porta, John Baptista, --- Porta, G. B. della --- Porta, Giovan Battista della, --- Della Porta, Giovan Battista, --- Dramatists, Italian --- Accademia dei Lincei. --- Albumazar. --- Alessandro Piccolomini. --- Ars Poetica (Horace). --- Asinaria. --- Astolfo. --- Astrology. --- Aulularia. --- Bacchides (play). --- Bartolomeo. --- Benedetto Croce. --- Benedetto. --- Caetani. --- Caricature. --- Carlo Goldoni. --- Classicism. --- Commedia dell'arte. --- Counter-Reformation. --- Divine Comedy. --- Drama. --- Duke of Florence. --- Farce. --- Federico Cesi. --- Francesco Andreini. --- Francesco D'Isa. --- Francis Bacon (artist). --- François Rabelais. --- G. (novel). --- Genre. --- Giambattista Basile. --- Giambattista Marino. --- Giambattista della Porta. --- Giordano Bruno. --- Giovanni Battista. --- Giovanni Francesco Sagredo. --- Girolamo. --- Hyperbole. --- Ibid (short story). --- Ignoramus. --- Il pastor fido. --- In Town (musical). --- Innamorati. --- James Shirley. --- La Spagna. --- La Strada. --- Lazzi. --- Lingua (play). --- Literature. --- Lorenzino de' Medici. --- Luigi Groto. --- Luigi d'Este. --- Massimo. --- Melodrama. --- Melodramma. --- Menaechmi. --- Miles Gloriosus (play). --- Necromancy. --- Neoclassicism. --- Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc. --- Novella. --- Orazio. --- Orbecche. --- Orlando Furioso. --- Ottava rima. --- Parody. --- Pedant. --- Physiognomy. --- Plautus. --- Playwright. --- Poenulus. --- Pompeo. --- Pomponio Torelli. --- Potboiler. --- Prose. --- Pulcinella. --- Pun. --- Renaissance. --- Romanticism. --- Rudens (play). --- Ruggiero (character). --- S. (Dorst novel). --- Samson Agonistes. --- Sarabande. --- Satire. --- Scipione. --- Sententiae. --- Soliloquy. --- Sophocles. --- Subplot. --- Tartaglia (commedia dell'arte). --- Terence. --- The Parliament of Love. --- The Valet. --- Titinius. --- Tolomeo. --- Torelli. --- Torquato Tasso. --- Tragicomedy. --- Ulisse. --- Zanni.