Samson Agonistes

John Kinsellas poetic and intertextual reworking of John Miltons dramatic poem, Samson Agonistes, confirms Milton as one of the many influences in Kinsellas poetic output. His fascination with Miltons tale of conflicted belief, values and desires is stated at the outset in the `Argument, and in what follows, Kinsella echoes many of Miltons themes as he explores how the cyborg Samson both a symbol of uncontrolled violence and a pacifist peacemaker must come to terms with his participation in his own powerlessness and incarceration. Stephen Chinnas introduction and Tim Cribbs afterword are invaluable in setting the central dramatisation in context.