Samson Agonistes Audiobook By John Milton cover art

Samson Agonistes

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Samson Agonistes

By: John Milton
Narrated by: David de Keyser, Philip Madoc, Matthew Morgan, Samantha Bond, Michael Maloney
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Samson Agonistes, the 'dramatic poem' by John Milton, was published in 1671, three years before the poet's death. Written in the form of a Greek tragedy, with the Chorus commenting on the action, it follows the biblical story of the blind Samson as he wreaks his revenge on the Philistines who have imprisoned him. A powerful subject, with a personal resonance for the blind Milton, it is a perfect work for the medium of audiobook, where poetry and drama can be balanced equally.

This production, adapted for BBC Radio 3, broadcast in 2008 and directed by John Tydeman, features Iain Glen in the title role, with Samantha Bond as Dalila, Philip Madoc as Harapha and Michael Maloney as the Messenger.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Entertainment & Performing Arts Radio

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Paradise Lost Audiobook By John Milton cover art
Paradise Lost By: John Milton
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If you enjoy Paradise Lost, you should check this out; similar high style and drama.

Underappreciated classic

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Great performances for a great piece, and the accompanying music is beautiful. Thank you

Amazing

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A magnificent work and production , listened many times over the years .

most grateful

wonderful

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This is incredible. This is more than audiobook. This is a full-cast performance of Milton’s tragedy. And it honestly couldn’t be better. This alone would be worth my subscription to Audible.

Unbelievable

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If you could sum up Samson Agonistes in three words, what would they be?

INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE, INTENSE

Who was your favorite character and why?

SAMSON- THE STORY IS ABOUT HIM

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

SAMSON

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

Any additional comments?

AUDIO NEEDS TO BE CLEARER

TURNING TRAGEDY INTO VICTORY

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Very good audio performance. Very enjoyable to listen to.
It will be fascinating to hear the context of all the Bible stories one day, and Milton provided an enjoyable literary opportunity in this life. Thank you, Milton, for how hard you worked in your own lifetime, giving your work all your strength and literally your eyesight, as the great protagonist of your story.

Milton is fabulous, Performance was great

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I just finished loving the BBC Radio abridged version of Paradise Lost, then jumped to this story. Unfortunately, I got bored 1/3 of the way in. Didn't care about any characters, including Samson and Deliliah. The poetry was beautiful, but I grew impatient Milton took too long to get to the point. Disliked the sexism and condescending view of women, more misogynistic than Paradise Lost. While Paradise Lost's story had epic grandeur and many verses dripped with beauty, which I kept rewinding to enjoy, Samson's story felt petty, whiny, and melodramatic in a negative way.

Bottom line: performances were excellent (as expected), poetry was overly epic for the subject, and story grew repetitive and I did not connect emotionally to any characters.

Not as good as Paradise Lost

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