Summary
The chorus announces that a storm is coming, but it is actually the giant Harapha of Gath. He comes to see Samson after hearing of his many deeds and to compare himself to him in strength. Samson offers to fight him, blind and with no armor, but Harapha refuses. Samson maintains that if they engage in combat, Samson will still win because his god is the true God, and Harapha's god Dagon is simply an idol.
Harapha leaves, and the chorus warns Samson that Harapha will seek revenge through the Philistine lords. Samson is confident Harapha will say nothing because it would reveal that he declined combat with Samson. Soon, an officer arrives, and tells Samson that he is to come with him to the temple of Dagon for the feast. Samson refuses and sends the officer away.
The chorus warns that Samson's refusal could cause him further harm, and argues that Samson already obeys the Philistines by working in the mill as a slave. Samson retorts that "commands are no constraints" (1372) and that to go to the temple would be an outright rejection of God and an insult to his own people. He refuses to play the part of a jester for the Philistines. But he then admits that he feels "some rousing motions in me" (1382) that change his way of thinking. When the officer returns, Samson agrees to go with him.
Analysis
Harapha's brief presence in the play helps usher in a slight but critical shift in Samson's behavior. Whereas he began the play by lamenting his fallen state, reiterating the extent of his weakness, and even wishing for death to release him, Harapha's taunting stirs Samson to action: he confidently challenges Harapha to combat, noting that even with no armor he will still defeat Harapha. Harapha's response is to praise the utility of armor and mock Samson, but he nonetheless refuses to engage in combat with him. Samson's assuredness at this point in the play is significant because it proves, once again, his dedication to God. Whereas Samson's faith in God has until this point manifested as self-blame and despair, Harapha inspires him to act, even without his superhuman strength, as a servant of God's will. In this way, Samson's challenging Harapha to combat represents the final element of his retribution, in which he is determined to defend God against idols and their worshippers even in his weakened state.
It is fitting, therefore, that the officer appears just after Harapha leaves and asks Samson to come with him to the amphitheater. At first, Samson's refusal to be paraded around for Philistine pleasure signifies yet another form of devotion to God: he will not indirectly honor Dagon when he knows he is merely an idol worshipped by the Philistines. In a swift moment of change, however, Samson says, "I begin to feel / Some rousing motions in me which dispose / To something extraordinary in my thoughts" (1381-1383). Here, Samson vaguely articulates the moment that God restores his strength, a phenomenon that leads Samson to devise his plan to kill the Philistines. That this precise information is obscured for the reader thrusts them into the same position as the chorus, Manoa, and others who remain unaware of Samson's plan. But it also underscores the intimate and special relationship Samson has cultivated with God, one that he has restored through his series of devotional proclamations and acts while imprisoned in Gaza.
