McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXXV · Part 9: Comedy, Milton, Whittier and Shakespeare's taverns
91. Death of Samson (John Milton)
Goal: Your student can retell the messenger's account of Samson's last act and connect it to the Bible story.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
From Milton's Samson Agonistes: a messenger tells Samson's father how Samson pulled down the great building on the Philistines. The heading is halfway down the page.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.
If your student does not know the story of Samson, read or tell Judges 16 briefly first.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
The book says Milton was born in London in 1608 and died in 1674; his father was a scrivener (a copier of legal papers). His eyesight had totally failed by 1654. In 1667 he sold Paradise Lost for five pounds in cash, with ten pounds more promised if certain things happened.
Read aloud
The messenger speaks. Read it as a breathless eyewitness, building to the crash.
Listen for these lines:
Occasions drew me early to this city;
And, as the gates I entered with sunrise,
Talk about it
SayWhere was the messenger, and why was he in the city?
SayDescribe the building and the crowd. Who sat where?
SayWhat did Samson do before he pulled the pillars? What did he say?
SayMilton was blind when he wrote this, and Samson was blind too. Why might that matter?
Narration
Your student retells the messenger's story from his arrival to the fall of the building.
Writing (optional)
Write a paragraph comparing Milton's version with the Bible's: what did Milton add?
Tip
Milton's sentences are long. Read each one to its period before stopping.