Summary
Manoa enters and immediately laments Samson's fall, noting how much he has changed since his portentous birth and heroic deeds. Samson tells Manoa that he is entirely responsible for what has happened to him, as he was the one who betrayed the secret of the Nazirites to his wife. He asks Manoa to recall his first wife, Timna, and how she tricked and betrayed him as well. Samson scorns himself for having been so taken with women's charms that he would reveal the secret to his strength.
Manoa tells Samson that the Philistines are having a large festival today to celebrate the deliverance of Samson to them and to honor their god, Dagon. This festival will bring unparalleled shame upon Israel, and Samson once again acknowledges that it is all his fault. Manoa explains that he is negotiating a ransom to free Samson from prison, but Samson tells him not to bother. Sensing Samson's despair, Manoa encourages Samson not to take his own life. Samson asks what the point of living would be if he is no longer strong; he says that he will not be useful to Israel but will instead remain an idle burden. Manoa encourages him not to think that way, saying that God can still save him and restore his strength. Samson, however, is convinced he will be blind and weak forever.
The chorus appears and explains that though patience is the "truest fortitude" (654), those in states of despair can rarely heed this advice. The chorus wonders why God endows some men with strength and honor only to watch them fall. They ask God to have mercy on Samson and end his life before he can suffer anymore. The chorus announces that Dalila, Samson's wife, approaches the prison.
Analysis
Samson's conversation with his father, Manoa, showcases disparate interpretations of God's judgment. Manoa, seeing how far his son has fallen, expresses surprise and despair over how harshly God has punished Samson. Samson's response, however, is to assume the entirety of the blame for his condition: "Appoint not heavenly disposition, father," he says, "Nothing of all these evils hath befall'n me / But justly; I myself have brought them on, / Sole author I, sole cause" (373-376). Here, both the chorus and Manoa pity Samson's sense of responsibility, and they remind him that it was Delila who betrayed him. But Samson's fervent assertions that he and he alone is to blame serve as expressions of his continued commitment to serve God. Rather than express rage or attempt to offset his guilt by blaming Delila alone, Samson chides himself for being easily persuaded by his wife and for betraying the Nazirite secret. While these thoughts are inherently misogynistic, they ultimately suggest that Samson's response to his fallen state is to continue to serve God, even after he is certain God has abandoned him altogether.
The chorus also provides a perspective of God's justice in this section, in that they serve as a mouthpiece for the average Christian who cannot understand man's suffering. The chorus inquires why God is so harsh and unpredictable, saying that he will frequently strike down those "with gifts and graces eminently adorned / To some great work, thy glory, / And people's safety" (679-681). Samson, of course, is the prime example here: he had used his unparalleled strength for the benefit of the people of Israel and the glory of God, and yet he is to die a slave to the Philistines. Here, the chorus expresses a common Christian quandary that Milton also addresses in his most famous work, the epic Paradise Lost: why would a merciful and loving God create so much suffering for his servants? In Paradise Lost, these thoughts are articulated, notably, by Satan. In Samson Agonistes, the chorus's inquiry is not so much an expression of evil but instead an earnest representation of how continued faith in God is not always an easy path. That Samson does not fall subject to the same mode of thought as the chorus showcases his unrelenting faith that God will eventually reward.
