Abstract
How does Samson, who is portrayed in the opening of Milton's drama Samson Agonistes as a wretched prisoner, slaving away at the mill in Gaza with both his eyes put out, transform into an autonomous agent? This essay finds in the distinction between the A- and B-series of time, made by twentieth-century Cambridge philosopher J. M. E. McTaggart, a key to Milton's representation of the inner movement in his fallen biblical hero from despair to agency. For Milton, only an A-structured mind, which perceives time as temporal passage, may ultimately lead to regeneration.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-309 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Philosophy and Literature |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 Johns Hopkins University Press.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Philosophy
- Literature and Literary Theory