The Pilgrim's Progress
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (published, February, 1678) is one of the most important books in English literature. It’s full title is The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come. It is a Christian allegory. It has been translated into more than 100 languages.
Contents |
[change] The writing of the book
Bunyan started to write the book when he was in gaol (jail). He had got into trouble because he was preaching but he did not have a license to preach. Only priests of the Church of England were allowed to preach. He spent twelve years in the Bedfordshire county gaol. He probably could have been freed at any time if he had promised not to preach anymore, but he refused to do that. He was only let out when the law changed in 1672.
The book is divided into two parts. It is quite possible that Part One was written during his long stay in prison from 1660-1672 and that the second part was written in 1677 during his second, short stay in gaol. It is also possible that he started the book in gaol and finished it when he was freed.
When the first part was published in 1678 it immediately became extremely popular. Part Two was published in 1684. There were eleven editions of the first part during John Bunyan’s lifetime, and two editions of the second part.
[change] Allegory
The story is an allegory about a man called Christian who goes on a journey and meets many strange people. Eventually he gets to heaven. The strange people he meets are characters who represent good things and bad things in life. The story is therefore an allegory of the life of a good Christian.
Many of the places he describes are based on places he knew in the Bedfordshire countryside. For example, the Slough of Despond are thought to be the marshes in Tempsford (now on the A1) and House Beautiful is thought to be Houghton House (now a ruin) just outside Ampthill. The character of the Evangelist represents his friend John Gifford who was the leader of a non-conformist group at St John’s Church, Bedford. The heavy burden (the heavy load) that Christian carries on his back represents his sins: all the things he has done wrong in his life and which trouble him greatly. However, the burden is based on something from his real life: the heavy anvil which he carried on his back when he walked from place to place looking for work as a tinker (someone who mends pots and pans).
[change] Plot
[change] First part
The story tells how a man called Christian makes his way from the "City of Destruction" (Earth) to the "Celestial City" (Heaven) of Zion. Christian finds himself weighed down by a great burden that he gets from reading a book (obviously the Bible). He keeps wondering what he can do to be saved. The character Evangelist appears several times during the story, pointing him in the right direction. He shows him the way to the "Wicket Gate". Christian tries to persuade his family to join him on the journey, but they will not go so he leaves them behind.
The first person he meets is called Mr. Worldly Wiseman who says he can be saved by looking at the law and that Mr Legality can help him, but Evangelist stops him from going that way. He has to go to the Wicket Gate.
At the Wicket Gate the gatekeeper, Good Will, tells him to keep to the straight path. Christian goes to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown pictures and that show ideas of the Christian faith. Then he gets to the “place of deliverance”. This is meant to be the hill with the cross of Calvary where Jesus died. There his burden falls off his back so he is very relieved. Three shining ones give him the greeting of peace. They give him new clothes and a passport to the Celestial City (heaven). This is like a Christian Baptism.
At the top of the Hill of Difficulty, Christian stops at the House Beautiful, which is an allegory of the local Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here. When he leaves he is wearing armour which protects him when he fights a battle with the monster Apollyon. Then he goes to the Shadow of Death, but he is not afraid because his friend Faithful reminds him of the words of the Psalm 23: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. The sun rises as he leaves.
Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, who also used to live in the City of Destruction. They go together to Vanity Fair, where they are both arrested because they do not like the kind of business that is being done at the fair, all based on greed. Faithful is put on trial, and executed. Hopeful, who lives in Vanity, takes Faithful's place as Christian's companion for the rest of the way.
Together Christian and Hope have several adventures. They are captured by Giant Despair, who takes them to his Doubting Castle, where they are imprisoned, beaten and starved. The giant wants them to commit suicide, but they refuse. Suddenly Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. Using the key, they escape.
They come to the Delectable Mountains where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place also known as "Immanuel's Land".
On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a man called Ignorance. He thinks he can enter the Celestial City even though he does not believe. A ferryman called Vain Hope ferries Ignorance across the River of Death, but Ignorance is turned away from the gates of Celestial City and thrown into hell.
Christian and Hopeful eventually reach the Celestial City.
[change] Second part
The Second Part of The Pilgrim's Progress presents the pilgrimage of Christian's wife, Christiana; their sons and the maiden, Mercy. It shows that women can be as brave as men. They visit the same stopping places that Christian did, but they take longer because they marry and give birth to chidren on the way. The hero of the story is Greatheart, the servant of the Interpreter, who is a pilgrim's guide to the Celestial City. He kills four giants, including Giant Despair, and helps to kill a monster that terrorizes the city of Vanity.
[change] Popularity
Although the language of The Pilgrim’s Progress may seem old-fashioned to us now, Bunyan wrote in a style which was very simple and direct in comparison with other books of his time. He gave his characters symbolic names, and this must have sounded very lively and imaginative to a 17th century audience. Bunyan had not had a proper education, so he did not write in an intellectual way, but in a way that ordinary people would understand.
The book includes a poem which is now the popular hymn Who Would True Valour See (or He Who Would Valiant Be in some versions).
Some phrases from the book have become part of the English language, in the same way that many English expressions come from the Bible. We often talk of a "Slough of Despond" (when we feel a problem is to big for us) or a "Hill Difficulty" etc.
[change] Musical settings and films
The book was the basis of an opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams, first performed in 1951. Vaughan Williams also wrote a short anthem "Valiant for Truth". The story has been made into films and used in video games.
