Milton and Noli’s Samson

Abstract

After a critical and inspiring reading of Judges 13–16 in the Old Testament, John Milton and Fan Noli engaged in the creative act of writing their dramas Samson Agonistes and Israilitë dhe filistinë(Israelites and Philistines), respectively. There are many similarities between these two dramas in which Samson,the protagonist, plays a key role in almost all the events. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the similarities and differences between Milton and Noli’s Samson. Such a comparative analysis will provide a better understanding of how the character of Samson is depicted and portrayed by two different authors who belonged to two different literary, cultural, and religious traditions and periods. The methodology we employ is literary and historical, relying on the general methods of comparative literature. The paper concludes that both Milton and Noli’s Samson have biblical, classical, personal, and autobiographical elements.