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Home CCSU Theses & Dissertations "Race of Shame" : Samson's transformation from a Homeric hero to a Hebraic hero/ Richard G.

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Identifier	Thesis 1627
Author	Graca, Richard G
Title	"Race of Shame" : Samson's transformation from a Homeric hero to a Hebraic hero/ Richard G.
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2001
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	In the tragic drama Samson Agonistes, John Milton transforms the protagonist from a defeated hero in the Homeric tradition to a suppliant yet conquering hero in the Hebraic tradition. Milton's source is the Old Testament book of Judges. W. H. Adkins and James M. Redfield provide insights into the Homeric shame culture, about time, and about a Greek warrior's desire for glory. Samson, before the play opens, is a Homeric hero. Expressing his shame through the Hebraic laments in the drama allows Samson to achieve lustratio. Purged, he uses shame as a rhetorical weapon against his Philistine interlocutors. In this thesis I propose that, for Milton, shame is crucial to Samson's transformation. I argue from Darryl Tippens' position that Samson experiences a "parabolic journey" in his life: a "race of glory" in his pre-captivity days as Israel's champion, a "race of shame" during his captivity, and a subsequent "race of glory" at the end of his life. Samson considers his revelation of the secret of his strength to Dalila as his sin which moved the nation of Israel away from Yahweh toward idolatry, especially of the Philistine god Dagon. I argue that Samson wants to be purged of his sin and that Milton replaces Aristotle's term catharsis, a purging of the emotions, with lustratio, a religious ceremony of purification. Leon Wurmser's compelling descriptions of shame's adverse effects on the human psyche apply directly to Samson. Michael Lewis describes the pathological effect of denying shame, which applies to Dalila. Samson recognizes the dialectic between Yahweh and Dagon as a theomachia, a battle between gods. By wanting to destroy the Philistines, Samson desires to be reinstated as a warrior in the theomachia. I argue that shame in Samson's life acts to absolve him of sin and equips him to partake in the theomachia. Samson acts as Hebraic Nazarite, judge, and prophet as he is restored to Yahweh's service in the theomachia. He faces his Philistine interlocutors with renewed spiritual vigor as he triumphs over them. The peripeteia at the Dagonalia at the end of Samson Agonistes is a direct result of Milton bestowing on Samson the mantle of shame. In his transformation from an Homeric hero to a suppliant Hebraic hero, Samson defeats shame and ends his life in a "race of glory."
Subject	Milton, John, 1608-1674 -- Criticism and interpretation Milton, John, 1608-1674. Samson Agonistes
Department	Department of English
Advisor	McDonough, Donald
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	48116853
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Home CCSU Theses & Dissertations "Race of Shame" : Samson's transformation from a Homeric hero to a Hebraic hero/ Richard G.

"Race of Shame" : Samson's transformation from a Homeric hero to a Hebraic hero/ Richard G.

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