Chorus of Danites

E518677

The Chorus of Danites is a collective group of Danite elders in John Milton’s tragic closet drama "Samson Agonistes," serving as a moral and reflective commentator on Samson’s downfall and spiritual struggle.

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chorus in drama
collective character
dramatic character group
fictional chorus
appearsIn Samson Agonistes NERFINISHED
appearsInLanguageVersion original English text of Samson Agonistes
associatedTheme heroism and weakness
interpretation of divine will
obedience to God
repentance
suffering and providence
basedOn Tribe of Dan NERFINISHED
createdBy John Milton NERFINISHED
describedAs Danite elders NERFINISHED
dramaticFunction to articulate communal norms and doubts
to mediate between Samson and audience
dramaticTechnique choric commentary
expressesViewpointOn God’s justice
Samson’s guilt and responsibility
national fate of Israel
firstPublicationContext Samson Agonistes (1671) NERFINISHED
genre tragedy
influencedBy Greek tragic chorus convention
interactsWith Manoah NERFINISHED
Samson NERFINISHED
language English
literaryForm closet drama
literaryMovement Puritan literature
literaryPeriod 17th-century English literature
medium dramatic poetry
memberOfFictionalGroup Danites NERFINISHED
modeledAs chorus similar to those in Greek tragedy
narrativePerspective communal
ontologicalStatus fictional entity
primaryFunctionInPlot to comment on Samson’s downfall
to frame audience response
to interpret Samson’s spiritual struggle
to provide ethical reflection
religiousContext Israelite NERFINISHED
roleInWork collective observer of Samson
moral commentator
reflective commentator
spiritual commentator
setIn ancient Israel NERFINISHED
textualForm verse

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Samson Agonistes character Chorus of Danites