ABSTRACT
Milton prefaces Samson Agonistes with a defense of tragedy that discusses its effects in terms of contemporary Paracelsian medicine. It is capable of purging “pity and fear, or terror” from the mind by raising these passions in the audience and tempering them “to just measure with a kind of delight, stirred up by reading and seeing those passions well imitated.” Milton’s preface immediately links this understanding of catharsis to the homeopathic medicine of his time, as practiced in particular by the Paracelsians. This essay discusses Samson Agonistes as a series of healing encounters for both its protagonist and the audience.
