DOIAbstract
This paper aims at examining some of the devices used by Newburgh Hamilton in the making of the libretto for Handel’s Samson (1743), a text initially derived from Milton’s Samson Agonistes. Metrical modifications, cuts operated both by the librettist and by the composer, insertions of extracts from some of Milton’s other poems all contribute to a considerable semantic modification of Milton ’s biblical drama. Indeed, the ideological and political dimension of Samson Agonistes seems to give way to another allegorical reading based on a new definition of art and of the artist ’s place in society. The particular context of the creation of Samson, as well as the interpretation of some of the musical elements, seem to lend themselves to the dram...
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