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Abstract

This dissertation argues that blindness functions in multiple, complex ways in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1674/2003) and Samson Agonistes (1671/2014). By reading the texts through a modern disability studies lens, Milton’s representation of blindness is ahead of his ocularcentric time. Compared to other criticisms of Milton’s texts which simplify blindness to its authorial connection, this dissertation offers a nuanced non-ableist reading. The first chapter discusses how blindness initially shapes the identities of Samson in Samson Agonistes and the blind narrator in Paradise Lost. Samson’s tribe (the Chorus) are presented as a disabling community since they problematically support his identity crisis following his eye-gouging by the Philistines. In comparison to Samson’s situation, the blind narrator is free from the constraints of disabling society, meaning they can reconstruct their identity with the aid of God’s muse. The second chapter considers historical perceptions of blindness. This context reveals that sight was deemed essential for understanding. However, Samson’s blindness allows him to reflect on his idolatrous transgression. This enables him to defend his remaining senses to combat Dalila’s seductive tactics, while his sighted tribe become enraptured by her sultry approach. Therefore, Samson serves as an example of spiritual regeneration to the Chorus. The blind narrator warns sighted readers about the dangers of divine interpretation. They do this by exposing the limitations of Galileo’s telescope, as it unwittingly observes Satan. By informing readers of this threat to spiritual sanctity, the blind narrator queries the paradigm that only sight results in clarity. The final chapter discusses how Samson and the blind narrator are “visionaries”. In the context of this dissertation, being a “visionary” means that they can access and comprehend knowledge of the divine. Therefore, blindness is their prerequisite to gaining this knowledge. This dissertation concludes that Milton’s texts dismantle ocularcentric and ableist notions of sight.

 

Course: English and Creative Writing - BA (Hons) - C1611

Date Deposited: 2022-02-17

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13800.html