Samson Agonistes and the Politics of Restoration Sport

Abstract

The raising of Maypoles throughout England in the spring of 1660 signified more than the return of monarchy; the Maypoles also symbolized the rejection of Interregnum ordinances that had rendered unlawful the traditional pastimes of the people. The ascension of Charles II and the subsequent proliferation of activities that were officially condemned by Interregnum leadersas well as the king's patronage of and participation in such activities-assured the representational volatility of in polemics and literature. In Samnson Agonistes, Milton's use of the term sport to signify activities involving sword-players, and every sort / Of gymnic artists, wrestlers, riders, [and] runners deviates from the biblical account of Samson's trials: such sports are neither mentioned nor implied in Judges, which offers sport as a term betokening jest.' Milton's decision to widen the biblical definition of should be understood as a key component of his allegorical critique of Restoration monarchy and culture. According to Christopher Durston, one of the prime targets of the puritan reformers during the Interregnum was the traditional festive calendar, along with the sports, games, and pastimes of the English people.2 The battles waged between royalists and parliamentarians in the 1630s-over the legality and morality of the Sabbath day sports endorsed by Charles I in the 1633 reissuance of his father's Book of Sports-ended abruptly with the victory of the New Model Army in the Civil War. The official burnings of the Book of Sports in 1643 were followed by legisla-