Samson Agonistes is Milton's attempt to bring together the seemingly opposing worldviews of Christianity and tragedy. While some would dispute that tragedy has no place in Christianity, Milton looked at tragedy in Judges 12-16 and, as an astute student of human nature, imagined the emotions Samson must have felt and the verbal exchanges that might have occurred between him and him . others. The result of Milton's conjectures is Samson Agonistes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay If, as Chaucer writes, "Tragedy means to tell a certain story, as the old books have made us remember, of him who had great prosperity." And if he falls from a high place into misery and ends up miserably" (http://www.dictionary.com), then Samson is indeed a tragic hero in the literary sense. Samson has clearly fallen from a "high place", since his friends remember a great man, a "Heriochos... renowned... irresistible Samson" (SA 125-126), the "dead glory of Israel, now sorrow" (179). ), and even the mighty Harapha admits: "Much have I heard / Of thy prodigious might and of thy accomplished deeds / Unbelievable to me" (1082-1084).No one would doubt that the Philistines once feared Samson and the Israelites revered him However, Samson's life changed dramatically when he suddenly transformed from a glorious hero into a prisoner "Trapped, attacked, overwhelmed.../ Poor and Blind" (365-366). temporal and spiritual. For him, physical blindness is more bearable than the isolation he feels from God. Samson has fallen headlong "from the height of marvelous glory,/...to the lowest [grade] of abject fortune" (167- 169). A character must have a fatal flaw before he can become a tragic hero; Samson's weakness was pride. In the Bible, pride is one of the “seven deadly sins” that surely lead to the final fall. Samson was gifted with superhuman strength, but by his own admission lacked commensurate wisdom (53-57). As his ego grew, his relationship with God diminished, until "puffed with pride into the trap [he] fell" (532). Samson would never have been captured, blinded, and humiliated if it were not for his growing pride. In order for God to prove to Samson that He was indeed in control, He was forced, by Samson's arrogance, to reduce the boastful son of Israel to nothing before he could be restored. A true “tragic hero,” Samson refuses to ask for help from outside forces. Samson vehemently refuses Manoah's offer to pay a ransom for his release, and urges him to "spare me the trouble/of that solicitation; leave me here,/as I deserve" (487-489). Samson believes he has brought all his misery upon himself; therefore, he cannot accept help from another person (374-376). At first, Samson is immersed in self-pity and has no desire to take revenge on the Philistines. Samson's encounter with Delilah (Dalilah) shakes him from his Laodicean state. Up to this point, Samson refuses to show anger and instead accepts his fate with abject resignation. Delilah, however, lights a fire within him, a fire that once lit, consumes his desperation and fuels his desire for revenge. Samson's first statement to her, "Out, out Hyaena," (748) shows that he is instantly freed from his apathetic mindset. As Marjorie Hope Nicolson rightly observes, “Samson's vigor is returning… more than he knows” (362). Indeed, Delilah's visit to Samson was the necessary catalyst for Samson to overthrow the Philistine's temple. Samson becomes more and more" (953).>