The Pilgrim's Progress
Encyclopedia
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian
allegory
written by John Bunyan
and published in February, 1678
. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature
, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire
county gaol for violations of the Conventicle Act
, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England
. Early Bunyan scholars like John Brown
believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675, but more recent scholars like Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660-1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.
The English text comprises 108,260 words and is divided into two parts, each reading as a continuous narrative with no chapter divisions. The first part was completed in 1677 and entered into the stationers' register on December 22, 1677. It was licensed and entered in the "Term Catalogue
" on February 18, 1678, which is looked upon as the date of first publication. After the first edition of the first part in 1678, an expanded edition, with additions written after Bunyan was freed, appeared in 1679. The Second Part appeared in 1684. There were eleven editions of the first part in John Bunyan's lifetime, published in successive years from 1678 to 1685 and in 1688, and there were two editions of the second part, published in 1684 and 1686.
, an everyman
character, is the protagonist of the allegory, which centers itself in his journey from his hometown, the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come": Heaven
) atop Mt. Zion
. Christian is weighed down by a great burden, the knowledge of his sin
, which he believed came from his reading "the book in his hand", (the Bible
). This burden, which would cause him to sink into Tophet
(hell
), is so unbearable that Christian must seek deliverance. He meets Evangelist as he is walking out in the fields, who directs him to the "Wicket Gate" for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the "Wicket Gate" in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a "shining light", which Christian thinks he sees. Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself: he cannot persuade them to accompany him. Obstinate and Pliable go after Christian to bring him back, but Christian refuses. Obstinate returns disgusted, but Pliable is persuaded to go with Christian, hoping to take advantage of the paradise that Christian claims lies at the end of his journey. Pliable's journey with Christian is cut short when the two of them fall into the Slough of Despond
. It is there that Pliable abandons Christian after getting himself out. After struggling to the other side of the bog, Christian is pulled out by Help, who has heard his cries.
On his way to the Wicket Gate, Christian is diverted by Mr. Worldly Wiseman into seeking deliverance from his burden through the Law, supposedly with the help of a Mr. Legality and his son Civility in the village of Morality, rather than through Christ, allegorically by way of the Wicket Gate. Evangelist meets the wayward Christian as he stops before Mount Sinai
on the way to Legality's home. It hangs over the road and threatens to crush any who would pass it. Evangelist shows Christian that he had sinned by turning out of his way, but he assures him that he will be welcomed at the Wicket Gate if he should turn around and go there, which Christian does.
At the Wicket Gate begins the "straight and narrow" King's Highway, and Christian is directed onto it by the gatekeeper Good Will. In the Second Part, Good-will is shown to be Jesus
himself. To Christian's query about relief from his burden, Good Will directs him forward to "the place of deliverance."
Christian makes his way from there to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown pictures and tableaux that portray or dramatize aspects of the Christian faith and life. Roger Sharrock denotes them "emblems."
From the House of the Interpreter, Christian finally reaches the "place of deliverance" (allegorically, the cross of Calvary
and the open sepulcher of Christ), where the "straps" that bound Christian's burden to him break, and it rolls away into the open sepulchre. This event happens relatively early in the narrative: the immediate need of Christian at the beginning of the story being quickly remedied. After Christian is relieved of his burden, he is greeted by three shining ones, who give him the greeting of peace, new garments, and a scroll
as a passport into the Celestial City — these are allegorical figures indicative of Christian Baptism
.
Atop the Hill of Difficulty, Christian makes his first stop for the night at the House Beautiful
, which is an allegory
of the local Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here, and leaves clothed with armour (Eph. 6:11-18), which stands him in good stead in his battle against Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. This battle lasts "over half a day" until Christian manages to wound Apollyon with his two-edged sword (a reference to the Bible, Heb. 4:12). "And with that Apollyon spread his dragon wings and sped away."
As night falls Christian enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. When he is in the middle of the valley amidst the gloom and terror he hears the words of the Twenty-third Psalm, spoken possibly by his friend Faithful:
Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, also a former resident of the City of Destruction, who accompanies him to Vanity Fair, where both are arrested and detained because of their disdain for the wares and business of the fair. Faithful is put on trial, and executed as a martyr. Hopeful, a resident of Vanity, takes Faithful's place to be Christian's companion for the rest of the way.
Along a rough stretch of road, Christian and Hopeful leave the highway to travel on the easier By-Path Meadow, where a rainstorm forces them to spend the night. In the morning 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 endure the ordeal until Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. Using the key, they escape.
The Delectable Mountains
form the next stage of Christian and Hopeful's journey, where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place also known as "Immanuel's Land". As at the House of the Interpreter pilgrims are shown sights that strengthen their faith and warn them against sinning. On Mount Clear they are able to see the Celestial City through the shepherd's "perspective glass", which serves as a telescope. This device is given to Mercy in the second part at her request.
On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a lad named Ignorance, who believes that he will be allowed into the Celestial City through his own good deeds rather than as a gift of God's grace. Christian and Hopeful meet up with him twice and try to persuade him to journey to the Celestial City in the right way. Ignorance persists in his own way that leads to his being cast into hell. After getting over the River of Death on the ferry boat of Vain Hope without overcoming the hazards of wading across it, Ignorance appears before the gates of Celestial City without a passport, which he would have acquired had he gone into the King's Highway through the Wicket Gate. The Lord of the Celestial City orders shining ones to take Ignorance to one of the byways to hell and throw him in.
Christian and Hopeful make it through the dangerous Enchanted Ground into the Land of Beulah, where they ready themselves to cross the River of Death on foot to Mount Zion and the Celestial City. Christian has a rough time of it, but Hopeful helps him over; and they are welcomed into the Celestial City.
for the four sons and their wives. 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 giant
s and participates in the slaying of a monster that terrorizes the city of Vanity
.
The passage of years in this second pilgrimage better allegorizes the journey of the Christian life. By using heroines, Bunyan, in the Second Part, illustrates the idea that women as well as men can be brave pilgrims.
Alexander M. Witherspoon, professor of English at Yale University
, writes in a prefatory essay
:
This is exemplified by the frailness of the pilgrims of the Second Part in contrast to those of the First: women, children, and physically and mentally challenged individuals. When Christiana's party leaves Gaius's Inn and Mr. Feeble-mind lingers in order to be left behind, he is encouraged to accompany the party by Greatheart:
When the pilgrims end up in the Land of Beulah, they cross over the River of Death by appointment. As a matter of importance to Christians of Bunyan's persuasion reflected in the narrative of The Pilgrim's Progress, the last words of the pilgrims as they cross over the river are recorded. The four sons of Christian and their families do not cross, but remain for the support of the church in that place.
. Other connections are suggested in books not directly associated with either John Bunyan or The Pilgrim's Progress.
At least twenty-one natural or man-made geographical or topographical features from The Pilgrim's Progress have been identified—places and structures John Bunyan regularly would have seen in his travels on foot or horseback. The entire journey from The City of Destruction to the Celestial City may have been based on Bunyan's own usual journey from Bedford
, on the main road that runs less than a mile behind his Elstow
cottage, through Ampthill
, Dunstable
and St Albans
, to London.
In the same sequence as these subjects appear in The Pilgrim's Progress, the geographical realities are as follows:
The allegory of this book has antecedents in a large number of Christian
devotional works that speak of the soul's path to Heaven
, from the Lyke-Wake Dirge
forward. Bunyan's allegory stands out above his predecessors because of his simple and effective, prose style, steeped in Biblical
texts and cadences. He confesses his own naïveté in the verse prologue to the book:
John Bunyan himself wrote a popular hymn that encourages a hearer to become a pilgrim-like Christian: All Who Would Valiant Be
.
Because of the widespread longtime popularity of "The Pilgrim's Progress", Christian's hazards — whether originally from Bunyan or borrowed by him from the Bible — the "Slough of Despond", the "Hill Difficulty", "Valley of the Shadow of Death", "Doubting Castle", and the "Enchanted Ground", his temptations (the wares of "Vanity Fair" and the pleasantness of "By-Path Meadow"), his foes ("Apollyon" and "Giant Despair"), and the helpful stopping places he visits (the "House of the Interpreter", the "House Beautiful", the "Delectable Mountains", and the "Land of Beulah") have become commonly used phrases proverb
ial in English. For example, "One has one's own Slough of Despond to trudge through."
Famous Christian preacher C.H Spurgeon was influenced by The Pilgrim's Progress and is said to have read the book over 100 times.
Pilgrim's Progresss is listed as one of Mr Tulliver's books in George Elliot
's "The Mill on the Floss
".
theology of The Pilgrim's Progress made it much more popular than its predecessors. Bunyan's plain style breathes life into the abstractions of the anthropomorphized
temptations and abstractions that Christian encounters and with whom he converses on his course to Heaven. Samuel Johnson
said that "this is the great merit of the book, that the most cultivated man cannot find anything to praise more highly, and the child knows nothing more amusing." Three years after its publication (1681), it was reprinted in colonial America
, and was widely read in the Puritan
colonies.
Because of its explicit English Protestant theology The Pilgrim's Progress shares the then popular English antipathy toward the Roman Catholic Church
. It was published over the years of the Popish Plot
(1678–1681) and ten years before the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, and it shows the influence of John Foxe
's Acts and Monuments
. Bunyan presents a decrepit and harmless giant to confront Christian at the end of the Valley of the Shadow of Death that is explicitly named "Pope":
When Christian and Faithful travel through Vanity Fair, Bunyan adds the editorial comment:
In the Second Part while Christiana and her group of pilgrims led by Greatheart stay for some time in Vanity, the city is terrorized by a seven-headed beast which is driven away by Greatheart and other stalwarts. In his endnotes W.R. Owens notes about the woman that governs the beast: "This woman was believed by Protestants to represent Antichrist, the Church of Rome. In a posthumously published treatise, Of Antichrist, and his Ruine (1692), Bunyan gave an extended account of the rise and (shortly expected) fall of Antichrist."
Beginning in the 1850s, illustrated versions of The Pilgrim's Progress in Chinese were printed in Hong Kong
, Shanghai
and Fuzhou
and widely distributed by Protestant missionaries. Hong Xiuquan
, the quasi-Christian leader of the Taiping Rebellion
, declared that the book was his favorite reading.
The Third Part of the Pilgrim's Progress
was written by an anonymous author; beginning in 1693, it was published with Bunyan's authentic two parts. It continued to be republished with Bunyan's work until 1852. This third part presented the pilgrimage of Tender-Conscience and his companions.
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
, premiered in 1951; see The Pilgrim's Progress (opera)
. It was also the basis of a condensed radio adaptation starring John Gielgud
, including, as background music, several excerpts from Vaughan Williams's orchestral works. This radio version, originally presented in 1942, was newly recorded by Hyperion Records
in 1990, in a performance conducted by Matthew Best. It again starred Gielgud, and featured Richard Pasco
and Ursula Howells
.
English composer Ernest Austin
set the whole story as a huge narrative tone poem for solo organ
, with optional 6-part choir
and narrator
, lasting approximately 2½ hours.
Twin brothers Keith and Kurt Landaas also composed, recorded, and performed a compelling rock opera version of the work in the early 1990s. The first act focused on Christian's journey, the second on that of Christiana, and their teenage son Matthew.
A musical based on the book was presented at the LifeHouse Theater in Redlands, California
, in 2004 and 2008, with book, music and lyrics by Kenneth Wright, with additional text, music and lyrics by Wayne Scott.
In 2007 Cuban based duet Quidam Pilgrim
released a musical setting of the book under the name of "Pilgrim" combining elements of alternative rock, Celtic, new age and Cuban folk music. The songs were written in English and Latin, also including one track in Spanish, these were performed on Cuban national television on several occasions receiving a positive audience response.
In 1950 an hour-long animated version was made by Baptista Films. This version was edited down to 35 minutes and re-released with new music in 1978. As of 2007 the original version is difficult to find, but the 1978 has been released on both VHS and DVD.
English band Procol Harum
released a song titled "Pilgrim's Progress" on their album A Salty Dog
in 1969.
In 1979, another film version was made by Ken Anderson
, in which Liam Neeson
played the role of the Pilgrim and other smaller roles like the crucified Christ. Maurice O'Callaghan played the Evangelist, and Peter Thomas played Worldly Wiseman. A sequel Christiana followed later.
In 2008, a version by Danny Carrales,Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
, was produced.
In 1985 Yorkshire Television
produced a 129-minute 9-part serial presentation of The Pilgrim's Progress with animated stills by Alan Parry and narrated by Paul Copley
entitled Dangerous Journey.
In 1989, Orion's Gate, a producer of Biblical/Spiritual audio dramas produced The Pilgrim's Progress as a 6 hour audio dramatization. Samples and more information may be found at http://www.OrionsGate.org. This production was followed several years later by Christiana: Pilgrim's Progress Part II, another 8 hour audio dramatization.
In 1993, the popular Christian radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey
(produced by Focus on the Family
), featured a two-part story, titled "Pilgrim's Progress: Revisited."
In 2003 the game Heaven Bound was released by Emerald Studios. The 3D adventure-style game, based on the novel, was only released for the PC.
A 2006 computer animation
version was made, directed and narrated by Scott Cawthon. The novel is frequently alluded to in the video game Deus Ex: Invisible War
. Saman, a significant character, utilizes its allegories to create purpose in his speech; "Young enemy, thy name is Pliable... you bend your ear to the Worldly Wiseman, to continue the archaic analogy.". If the player makes the choice to side with the Templar faction at the end of the game, after the cinematic, the quote appears, taken from both the novel and Proverbs
21:16 - "He that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead."
Curiously, the player's actions towards the Templar faction are not entirely unlike the struggle of Christian throughout the Pilgrim's Progress.
At the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival
, the adaptation Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
received one nomination for best feature length independent film and one nomination for best music score.
British music band Kula Shaker
released an album called Pilgrim's Progress
on June 28, 2010.
Director Todd Fietkau is making a version of Pilgrim's Progress.
The family film The Wylds was inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
written by John Bunyan
John Bunyan
John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...
and published in February, 1678
1678 in literature
The year 1678 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Thomas Otway, escaping from an unhappy love affair, obtains a commission in the army.*Printer Joseph Moxon becomes the first tradesman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society....
. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
county gaol for violations of the Conventicle Act
Conventicle Act 1664
The Conventicle Act of 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England that forbade conventicles...
, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Early Bunyan scholars like John Brown
John Brown of Bedford
This article is about 19th and early 20th century theologian, for other people with the same name see John Brown .The Rev. John Brown, B.A. D.D. was a British theologian, historian, and pastor. He was born in 1830...
believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675, but more recent scholars like Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660-1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.
The English text comprises 108,260 words and is divided into two parts, each reading as a continuous narrative with no chapter divisions. The first part was completed in 1677 and entered into the stationers' register on December 22, 1677. It was licensed and entered in the "Term Catalogue
Term catalogue
A Term Catalogue, German Messkatalog, is a serial publication compiled to inform customers—most importantly book traders from other cities—of the book production as available on the book fairs. The first such catalogue was issued by Georg Willer in Augsburg in 1564...
" on February 18, 1678, which is looked upon as the date of first publication. After the first edition of the first part in 1678, an expanded edition, with additions written after Bunyan was freed, appeared in 1679. The Second Part appeared in 1684. There were eleven editions of the first part in John Bunyan's lifetime, published in successive years from 1678 to 1685 and in 1688, and there were two editions of the second part, published in 1684 and 1686.
First Part
ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, an everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
character, is the protagonist of the allegory, which centers itself in his journey from his hometown, the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come": Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
) atop Mt. Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
. Christian is weighed down by a great burden, the knowledge of his sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
, which he believed came from his reading "the book in his hand", (the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
). This burden, which would cause him to sink into Tophet
Tophet
Tophet or Topheth is believed to be a location in Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom, where the Canaanites sacrificed children to the god Moloch by burning them alive. The Hebrew Bible also mentions what appears to be child sacrifice practiced at a place called the Tophet by the Canaanites,...
(hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
), is so unbearable that Christian must seek deliverance. He meets Evangelist as he is walking out in the fields, who directs him to the "Wicket Gate" for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the "Wicket Gate" in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a "shining light", which Christian thinks he sees. Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself: he cannot persuade them to accompany him. Obstinate and Pliable go after Christian to bring him back, but Christian refuses. Obstinate returns disgusted, but Pliable is persuaded to go with Christian, hoping to take advantage of the paradise that Christian claims lies at the end of his journey. Pliable's journey with Christian is cut short when the two of them fall into the Slough of Despond
Slough of Despond
The Slough of Despond is a deep bog in John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, into which the character Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of guilt for them...
. It is there that Pliable abandons Christian after getting himself out. After struggling to the other side of the bog, Christian is pulled out by Help, who has heard his cries.
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
on the way to Legality's home. It hangs over the road and threatens to crush any who would pass it. Evangelist shows Christian that he had sinned by turning out of his way, but he assures him that he will be welcomed at the Wicket Gate if he should turn around and go there, which Christian does.
At the Wicket Gate begins the "straight and narrow" King's Highway, and Christian is directed onto it by the gatekeeper Good Will. In the Second Part, Good-will is shown to be Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
himself. To Christian's query about relief from his burden, Good Will directs him forward to "the place of deliverance."
Christian makes his way from there to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown pictures and tableaux that portray or dramatize aspects of the Christian faith and life. Roger Sharrock denotes them "emblems."
From the House of the Interpreter, Christian finally reaches the "place of deliverance" (allegorically, the cross of Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
and the open sepulcher of Christ), where the "straps" that bound Christian's burden to him break, and it rolls away into the open sepulchre. This event happens relatively early in the narrative: the immediate need of Christian at the beginning of the story being quickly remedied. After Christian is relieved of his burden, he is greeted by three shining ones, who give him the greeting of peace, new garments, and a scroll
Scroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
as a passport into the Celestial City — these are allegorical figures indicative of Christian Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
.
Atop the Hill of Difficulty, Christian makes his first stop for the night at the House Beautiful
House Beautiful (Pilgrim's Progress)
In John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Christian makes his first stop for the night at the House Beautiful. It is an allegory of the local Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here, and leaves clothed with armour....
, which is an allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
of the local Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here, and leaves clothed with armour (Eph. 6:11-18), which stands him in good stead in his battle against Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. This battle lasts "over half a day" until Christian manages to wound Apollyon with his two-edged sword (a reference to the Bible, Heb. 4:12). "And with that Apollyon spread his dragon wings and sped away."
As night falls Christian enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. When he is in the middle of the valley amidst the gloom and terror he hears the words of the Twenty-third Psalm, spoken possibly by his friend Faithful:
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. (PsalmsAs he leaves this valley the sun rises on a new day.PsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
23:4.)
Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, also a former resident of the City of Destruction, who accompanies him to Vanity Fair, where both are arrested and detained because of their disdain for the wares and business of the fair. Faithful is put on trial, and executed as a martyr. Hopeful, a resident of Vanity, takes Faithful's place to be Christian's companion for the rest of the way.
Along a rough stretch of road, Christian and Hopeful leave the highway to travel on the easier By-Path Meadow, where a rainstorm forces them to spend the night. In the morning 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
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, but they endure the ordeal until Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. Using the key, they escape.
The Delectable Mountains
Delectable Mountains
The Delectable Mountains are one of the rest havens for the pilgrims travelling to the Celestial City in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Christian is shown them from the House Beautiful, and he sees "a most pleasant Mountainous Country, beautified with Woods, Vineyards, Fruits of all sorts;...
form the next stage of Christian and Hopeful's journey, where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place also known as "Immanuel's Land". As at the House of the Interpreter pilgrims are shown sights that strengthen their faith and warn them against sinning. On Mount Clear they are able to see the Celestial City through the shepherd's "perspective glass", which serves as a telescope. This device is given to Mercy in the second part at her request.
On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a lad named Ignorance, who believes that he will be allowed into the Celestial City through his own good deeds rather than as a gift of God's grace. Christian and Hopeful meet up with him twice and try to persuade him to journey to the Celestial City in the right way. Ignorance persists in his own way that leads to his being cast into hell. After getting over the River of Death on the ferry boat of Vain Hope without overcoming the hazards of wading across it, Ignorance appears before the gates of Celestial City without a passport, which he would have acquired had he gone into the King's Highway through the Wicket Gate. The Lord of the Celestial City orders shining ones to take Ignorance to one of the byways to hell and throw him in.
Christian and Hopeful make it through the dangerous Enchanted Ground into the Land of Beulah, where they ready themselves to cross the River of Death on foot to Mount Zion and the Celestial City. Christian has a rough time of it, but Hopeful helps him over; and they are welcomed into the Celestial City.
Second Part
The Second Part of The Pilgrim's Progress presents the pilgrimage of Christian's wife, Christiana; their sons; and the maiden, Mercy. They visit the same stopping places that Christian visited, with the addition of Gaius' Inn between the Valley of the Shadow of Death and Vanity Fair; but they take a longer time in order to accommodate marriage and childbirthBirth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
for the four sons and their wives. The hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
of the story is Greatheart, the servant of the Interpreter, who is a pilgrim's guide to the Celestial City. He kills four giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
s and participates in the slaying of a monster that terrorizes the city of Vanity
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
.
The passage of years in this second pilgrimage better allegorizes the journey of the Christian life. By using heroines, Bunyan, in the Second Part, illustrates the idea that women as well as men can be brave pilgrims.
Alexander M. Witherspoon, professor of English at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, writes in a prefatory essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
:
Part II, which appeared in 1684, is much more than a mere sequel to or repetition of the earlier volume. It clarifies and reinforces and justifies the story of Part I. The beam of Bunyan's spotlight is broadened to include Christian's family and other men, women, and children; the incidents and accidents of everyday life are more numerous, the joys of the pilgrimage tend to outweigh the hardships; and to the faith and hope of Part I is added in abundant measure that greatest of virtues, charity. The two parts of The Pilgrim's Progress in reality constitute a whole, and the whole is, without doubt, the most influential religious book ever written in the English language.
This is exemplified by the frailness of the pilgrims of the Second Part in contrast to those of the First: women, children, and physically and mentally challenged individuals. When Christiana's party leaves Gaius's Inn and Mr. Feeble-mind lingers in order to be left behind, he is encouraged to accompany the party by Greatheart:
But brother ... I have it in commission, to comfort the feeble-minded, and to support the weak. You must needs go along with us; we will wait for you, we will lend you our help, we will deny ourselves of some things, both opinionative and practical, for your sake; we will not enter into doubtful disputations before you, we will be made all things to you, rather than you shall be left behind.
When the pilgrims end up in the Land of Beulah, they cross over the River of Death by appointment. As a matter of importance to Christians of Bunyan's persuasion reflected in the narrative of The Pilgrim's Progress, the last words of the pilgrims as they cross over the river are recorded. The four sons of Christian and their families do not cross, but remain for the support of the church in that place.
First Part
- CHRISTIAN, whose name was Graceless at some time before, the protagonist in the First Part, whose journey to the Celestial City is the plot of the story.
- EVANGELIST, the religious man who puts Christian on the path to the Celestial City. He also shows Christian a book, which readers assume to be the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. - Obstinate, one of the two residents of the City of Destruction, who run after Christian when he first sets out, in order to bring him back.
- Pliable, the other of the two, who goes with Christian until both of them fall into the Slough of DespondSlough of DespondThe Slough of Despond is a deep bog in John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, into which the character Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of guilt for them...
. Pliable escapes from the slough and returns home. - Help, Christian's rescuer from the Slough of Despond.
- MR. WORLDLY WISEMAN, a resident of a place called Carnal Policy, who persuades Christian go out of his way to be helped by a Mr. Legality and then move to the City of MoralityMoralityMorality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
. - GOODWILL, the keeper of the Wicket GateWicket gateA wicket gate is a small gate or door, particularly one built into a larger one. The cricket term "wicket" comes from this usage. The term wicket gate is also used in English to refer to automatic ticket barriers or older staffed ticket gates on Japan's railway network...
through which one enters the "straight and narrow way" (also referred to as "the King's Highway") to the Celestial City. In the Second Part we find that this character is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. - Beelzebub, literally "Lord of the Flies", is one of the devilDevilThe Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
's companion archdevils, who has erected a fort near the Wicket Gate from which he and his companions can shoot arrowArrowAn arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
s at those about to enter the Wicket Gate. He is also the Lord of Vanity Fair. Christian calls him "captain" of the fiend Apollyon. - THE INTERPRETER, the one who has his House along the way as a rest stop for travellers to check in to see pictures and dioramaDioramaThe word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
s to teach them the right way to live the Christian life. He has been identified as the Holy SpiritHoly SpiritHoly Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
. He also appears in the Second Part. - Shining Ones, the messengers and servants of "the Lord of the Hill", GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. They are obviously the holy angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s. - Formalist, one of two travellers on the King's Highway, who do not come in by the Wicket Gate, but climb over the wall that encloses it, at least from the hill and sepulcre up to the Hill Difficulty. He and his companion Hypocrisy come from the land of Vainglory. He takes one of the two bypaths that avoid the Hill Difficulty, but is lost.
- HypocrisyHypocrisyHypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
, the companion of Formalist. He takes the other of the two bypaths and is also lost. - Timorous, one of two who try to persuade Christian to go back for fearFearFear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
of the chained lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s near the House Beautiful. He is a relative of Mrs. Timorous of the Second Part. His companion is Mistrust. - Watchful, the porter of the House Beautiful. He also appears in the Second Part and receives "a gold angel" coin from Christiana for his kindness and service to her and her companions. "Watchful" is also the name of one of the Delectable Mountains' shepherds.
- Discretion, one of the beautiful maids of the house , who decides to allow Christian to stay there.
- Prudence, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.
- Piety, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.
- Charity, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.
- APOLLYON, literally "Destroyer"; the lord of the City of Destruction and one of the devil's companion archdevils, who tries to force Christian to return to his domain and service. His battle with Christian takes place in the Valley of Humiliation, just below the House Beautiful. He appears as a dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-like creature with scales and bats' wingWingA wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
s. He takes dartDart (missile)Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...
s from his bodyBodyWith regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
to throw at his opponents. - Giants "Pope" and "Pagan", allegories of Roman Catholicism and paganism as persecutors of Protestant Christians. "Pagan" is dead, indicating the end of pagan persecution with Antiquity, and "Pope" is alive but decrepit, indicating the then diminished power and influence of the Roman Catholic pope.
- FAITHFUL, Christian's friend from the City of Destruction, who is also going on pilgrimage. Christian meets him just after getting through the ValleyValleyIn geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
of the Shadow of DeathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. - Wanton, a temptress who tries to get Faithful to leave his journey to the Celestial City. She may be the popular resident of the City of Destruction, Madam Wanton, who hosted a house party for friends of Mrs. Timorous.
- Adam the First, "the old man" (representing carnality) who tries to persuade Faithful to leave his journey and come live with his 3 daughters: the LustLustLust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
of the fleshFlesh (theology)In Christianity, the word "flesh" is used in English as a metaphor to describe sinful tendencies. A related turn of phrase identifies certain sins as "carnal" sins, from Latin caro, carnis, meaning "flesh." Saint Paul makes this connection in Romans 7:18, in which he says:In religious language,...
, the Lust of the eyes, and the PridePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
of life. - MosesMosesMoses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, the severe, violent avenger (representing the LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, which knows no mercyMercyMercy is broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts.The concept of a "Merciful God" appears in various religions from Christianity to...
) who tries to kill Faithful for his momentary weakness in wanting to go with Adam the First out of the way. - Talkative, a hypocrite known to Christian from the City of Destruction, who lived on Prating Row. He talks fervently of religionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, but has no evident works as a result of true salvation. - Lord Hate-good, the judge who tries Faithful in Vanity Fair.
- Envy, the first witness against Faithful.
- Superstition, the second witness against Faithful.
- Pick-Thank, the third witness against Faithful.
- HOPEFUL, the resident of Vanity Fair, who takes Faithful's place as Christian's fellow traveler. The character HOPEFUL poses an inconsistency in that there is a necessity imposed on the pilgrims that they enter the "King's Highway" by the Wicket Gate. HOPEFUL did not; however, of him we read: "... one died to bear testimony to the truth, and another rises out of his ashes to be a companion with Christian in his pilgrimage". HOPEFUL assumes FAITHFUL'S place by God's design. Theologically and allegorically it would follow in that "faith" is trust in God as far as things present are concerned, and "hopeHopeHope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
", biblically the same as "faithFaithFaith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
", is trust in God as far as things of the future are concerned. HOPEFUL would follow FAITHFUL. The other factor is Vanity Fair's location right on the straight and narrow way. IGNORANCE, in contrast to HOPEFUL, came from the Country of ConceitConceitIn literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. By juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways, a conceit invites the reader into a more sophisticated understanding of an object of comparison...
, that connected to the "King's Highway" by means of a crooked lane. IGNORANCE was told by CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL that he should have entered the highway through the Wicket Gate. - Mr. By-Ends, a hypocritical pilgrim who perishes in the Hill LucreLucreLucre, from the Lat. lucrum, meaning gain in terms of money or wealth within the nation.Often it is used in a negative, as in the phrase “not given to filthy lucre” from the Bible .From this, the term "filthy" became slang for money...
silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine with three of his friends. A "by-end" is a pursuit that is achieved indirectly. In the case of By-Ends and his companions, it is pursuing financial gain through religion. - DemasDemasDemas, mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament of the Bible, appears to have been a man involved in the ministry as a companion of Paul...
, a deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill LucreLucreLucre, from the Lat. lucrum, meaning gain in terms of money or wealth within the nation.Often it is used in a negative, as in the phrase “not given to filthy lucre” from the Bible .From this, the term "filthy" became slang for money...
to come and join in the supposed silver mining going on in it. - GIANT DESPAIR, the owner of Doubting Castle, where Christians are imprisoned and murdered. He is slain by GREAT-HEART in the Second Part.
- Giantess Diffidence, Despair's wife. She is slain by OLD HONEST in the Second Part.
- KnowledgeKnowledgeKnowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
, one of the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains. - ExperienceExperienceExperience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds. - Watchful, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
- Sincere, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
- IGNORANCE, "a brisk young lad", who joins the "King's Highway" by way of the "crooked lane" that comes from his native country, called "Conceit." He follows Christian and Hopeful and on two occasions talks with them. He believes that he will be received into the Celestial City because of his doing good works in accordance with God's will. Jesus Christ is for him only an example not a Savior. Christian and Hopeful try to set him right, but they fail. He gets a ferryman, Vain-Hope, to ferry him across the RiverRiverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
of Death rather than cross it on foot as one is supposed to do. When he gets to the gates of the Celestial City, he is asked for a "certificate" needed for entry, which he does not have. The King, then, orders that he be bound and cast into hell. - The Flatterer, a deceiver who leads Christian and Hopeful out of their way, when they fail to look at the road map given them by the Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.
- Atheist, a mocker of CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL, who goes the opposite way on the "King's Highway" because he boasts that he knows that God and the Celestial City do not exist.
Second Part
- Mr. Sagacity, a guest narrator who meets Bunyan himself in his new dream and recounts the events of the Second Part up to the arrival at the Wicket Gate.
- CHRISTIANA, wife of CHRISTIAN, who leads her four sons and neighbour MERCY on pilgrimage.
- MATTHEW, CHRISTIAN and CHRISTIANA's eldest son, who marries MERCY.
- SAMUEL, second son, who marries Grace, Mr. Mnason's daughter.
- JOSEPH, third son, who marries Martha, Mr. Mnason's daughter.
- JAMES, fourth and youngest son, who marries Phoebe, Gaius's daughter.
- MERCY, CHRISTIANA's neighbour, who goes with her on pilgrimage and marries MATTHEW.
- Mrs. Timorous, relative of the Timorous of the First Part, who comes with MERCY to see CHRISTIANA before she sets out on pilgrimage.
- Mrs. Bat's-Eyes, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. Since she has a bat's eyes, she would be blind or nearly blind, so her characterization of Christiana as blind in her desire to go on pilgrimage is hypocritical.
- Mrs. Inconsiderate, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. She characterizes Christiana's departure "a good riddance" as an inconsiderate person would.
- Mrs. Light-Mind, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. She changes the subject from Christiana to gossip about being at a bawdy party at Madam Wanton's home.
- Mrs. Know-Nothing, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. She wonders if Christiana will actually go on pilgrimage.
- Ill-favoured Ones, two evilEvilEvil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
characters CHRISTIANA sees in her dream, whom she and MERCY actually encounter when they leave the Wicket Gate. - Innocent, a young serving maid of the INTERPRETER, who answers the door of the house when Christiana and her companions arrive; and who conducts them to the garden bath, which signifies Christian baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
. - MR. GREAT-HEART, the guide and body-guard sent by the INTERPRETER with CHRISTIANA and her companions from his house to their journey's end. He proves to be one of the main protagonists in the Second Part.
- Giant Grim, who "backs the [chained] lions" near the House Beautiful, slain by GREAT-HEART. He is also known as Bloody-man.
- Humble-Mind, one of the maidens of the House Beautiful, who makes her appearance in the Second Part.
- Mr. Brisk, a suitor of MERCY's, who gives up courting her when he finds out that she makes clothing only to give away to the poor.
- Mr. Skill, the physician called to the House Beautiful to cure Matthew of his illness, which is caused by eating the appleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s of Beelzebub. - Giant Maul, a giant that GREAT-HEART kills as the pilgrims leave the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
- OLD HONEST, a pilgrim that joins them, a welcome companion to GREAT-HEART.
- Mr. Fearing, a pilgrim whom GREAT-HEART had "conducted" to the Celestial City in an earlier pilgrimage. Noted for his timidness. He is Mr. Feeble-Mind's uncle.
- Gaius, an innkeeper with whom the pilgrims stay for some years after they leave the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He gives his daughter Phebe to JAMES in marriage. The lodging fee for his inn is paid by the Good Samaritan.
- Giant Slay-Good, a giant that enlists the help of evil-doers on the King's Highway to abduct, murder, and consume pilgrims.
- Mr. Feeble-Mind, rescued from Slay-Good by Mr. Great-Heart, who joins Christiana's company of pilgrims.
- Phoebe, Gaius's daughter, who marries JAMES.
- Mr. Ready-to-Halt, a pilgrim who meets CHRISTIANA's train of pilgrims at Gaius's door, and becomes the companion of Mr. Feeble-mind, to whom he gives one of his crutches.
- Mr. Mnason, a resident of the town of Vanity, who puts up the pilgrims for a time, and gives his daughters Grace and Martha in marriage to SAMUEL and JOSEPH respectively.
- Grace, Mnason's daughter, who marries SAMUEL.
- Martha, Mnason's daughter, who marries JOSEPH.
- Mr. Despondency, a rescued prisoner from Doubting Castle.
- Much-Afraid, his daughter.
- Mr. VALIANT-FOR-TRUTH, a pilgrim they find all bloody, with his swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
in his hand, after leaving the Delectable Mountains. - Mr. Stand-Fast, a pilgrim found while praying for deliverance from Madame Bubble.
- Madame Bubble, a witch whose enchantments made the Enchanted Ground enchanted. She is the adulterous woman mentioned in the Biblical Book of Proverbs.
Places in The Pilgrim's Progress
- City of Destruction, Christian's home, representative of the world (cf. Isaiah 19:18)
- Slough of DespondSlough of DespondThe Slough of Despond is a deep bog in John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, into which the character Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of guilt for them...
, the miry swamp on the way to the Wicket Gate; one of the hazards of the journey to the Celestial City. In the First Part, Christian falling into it, sinks further under the weight of his sins (his burden) and his sense of their guilt. - Mount Sinai, a frightening mountain near the Village of Morality that threatens all who would go there.
- Wicket GateWicket gateA wicket gate is a small gate or door, particularly one built into a larger one. The cricket term "wicket" comes from this usage. The term wicket gate is also used in English to refer to automatic ticket barriers or older staffed ticket gates on Japan's railway network...
, the entry point of the straight and narrow way to the Celestial City. Pilgrims are required to enter the way by way of the Wicket Gate. - House of the Interpreter, a type of spiritual museum to guide the pilgrims to the Celestial City.
- Cross and Sepulchre, emblematic of Calvary and the tomb of Christ.
- Hill Difficulty, both the hill and the road up is called "Difficulty"; it is flanked by two treacherous byways "Danger" and "Destruction." There are three choices: CHRISTIAN takes "Difficulty" (the right way), and Formalist and Hypocrisy take the two other ways, which prove to be fatal dead ends.
- House Beautiful, a palace that serves as a rest stop for pilgrims to the Celestial City. It apparently sits atop the Hill Difficulty. From the House Beautiful one can see forward to the Delectable Mountains. It represents the Christian congregation, and Bunyan takes its name from a gate of the Jerusalem temple (Acts 3:2, 10).
- Valley of Humiliation, the valley on the other side of the Hill Difficulty, going down into which is said to be extremely slippery by the House Beautiful's damsel Prudence. It is where Christian meets Apollyon in the place known as "Forgetful Green." This valley had been a delight to the "Lord of the Hill", Jesus Christ, in his "state of humiliation."
- Valley of the Shadow of Death, a treacherous valley with a quick sand bog on one side and a deep chasm/ditch on the other side of the King's Highway going through it (cf. Psalm 23:4).
- Gaius's inn, a rest stop in the Second Part
- Vanity and Vanity Fair, a city through which the King's Highway passes and the yearlong fair that is held there.
- Plain Ease, a pleasant area traversed by the pilgrims.
- Hill Lucre, location of a reputed silver mine that proves to be the place where By-Ends and his companions are lost.
- The Pillar of Salt, which was Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. The pilgrim's note that its location near the Hill Lucre is a fitting warning to those who are tempted by Demas to go into the Lucre silver mine.
- River of God or River of the Water of Life, a place of solace for the pilgrims. It flows through a meadow, green all year long and filled with lush fruit trees. In the Second Part the Good Shepherd is found there to whom Christiana's grandchildren are entrusted.
- By-Path Meadow, the place leading to the grounds of Doubting Castle.
- Doubting Castle, the home of Giant Despair and his wife; only one key could open its doors and gates, the key Promise.
- The Delectable MountainsDelectable MountainsThe Delectable Mountains are one of the rest havens for the pilgrims travelling to the Celestial City in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Christian is shown them from the House Beautiful, and he sees "a most pleasant Mountainous Country, beautified with Woods, Vineyards, Fruits of all sorts;...
, known as "Immanuel's Land." Lush country from whose heights one can see many delights and curiosities. It is inhabited by sheep and their shepherds, and from Mount Clear one can see the Celestial City. - The Enchanted Ground, an area through which the King's Highway passes that has air that makes pilgrims want to stop to sleep. If one goes to sleep in this place, one never wakes up. The shepherds of the Delectable Mountains warn pilgrims about this.
- The Land of Beulah, a lush garden area just this side of the River of Death.
- The River of Death, the dreadful river that surrounds Mount Zion, deeper or shallower depending on the faith of the one traversing it.
- The Celestial City, the "Desired Country" of pilgrims, heaven, the dwelling place of the "Lord of the Hill", God. It is situated on Mount Zion.
Geographical and topographical features behind the fictional places
Scholars have pointed out that Bunyan may have been influenced in the creation of places in The Pilgrim's Progress by his own surrounding environment. Albert Foster describes the natural features of Bedfordshire that apparently turn up in The Pilgrim's Progress. Vera Brittain in her thoroughly researched biography of Bunyan, identifies seven locations that appear in the allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
. Other connections are suggested in books not directly associated with either John Bunyan or The Pilgrim's Progress.
At least twenty-one natural or man-made geographical or topographical features from The Pilgrim's Progress have been identified—places and structures John Bunyan regularly would have seen in his travels on foot or horseback. The entire journey from The City of Destruction to the Celestial City may have been based on Bunyan's own usual journey from Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, on the main road that runs less than a mile behind his Elstow
Elstow
Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan, was born here - at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street.-History:...
cottage, through Ampthill
Ampthill
Ampthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
, Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
and St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, to London.
In the same sequence as these subjects appear in The Pilgrim's Progress, the geographical realities are as follows:
- The plain (across which Christian fled) is BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
Plain, which is fifteen miles wide with the town of BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
in the middle and the river OuseRiver Great OuseThe Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
meandering through the northern half; - The "Slough of Despond" (a major obstacle for Christian and Pliable: "a very miry slough") is the large deposits of gray clay, which supplied London Brick's works in StewartbyStewartbyStewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
, which was closed in 2008. On either side of the BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
to AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
road these deposits match Bunyan's description exactly. Presumably, the road was built on the "twenty thousand cart loads" of fill mentioned in The Pilgrim's Progress; - "Mount Sinai", the high hill on the way to the village of Morality, whose side "that was next the way side, did hang so much over," is the red, sandy, cliffs just north of RidgmontRidgmontRidgmont is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located beside junction 13 of the M1 motorway, and close to Milton Keynes and Woburn Abbey...
(i.e. "Rouge Mont"); - The "Wicket Gate" is the wooden gate at the entrance to the ElstowElstowElstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan, was born here - at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street.-History:...
parish church; - The castle from which arrows were shot at those who would enter the Wicket Gate is the stand-alone tower, the remnant of an abbey that stood beside the church.
- The "House of the Interpreter" is the rectory of St John's church in the south end of BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, where Bunyan was mentored by the pastor John Gifford; - The wall "Salvation" that fenced in the King's Highway coming after the House of the Interpreter is the red brick wall, over four miles long, beside the RidgmontRidgmontRidgmont is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located beside junction 13 of the M1 motorway, and close to Milton Keynes and Woburn Abbey...
to WoburnWoburn, BedfordshireWoburn is a small Saxon village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway and is a popular tourist attraction.-History:...
road, marking the boundary of the Duke of Bedford's estate; - The "place somewhat ascending ... [with] a cross ... and a sepulchre" is the village cross and well that stands by the church at opposite ends of the sloping main street of StevingtonStevingtonStevington is a village in the Borough of Bedford in the northern part of Bedfordshire, England, and forms the civil parish of Stevington. It is on the River Ouse four to five miles north west of Bedford. Nearby villages include Bromham, Oakley, Pavenham and Turvey...
, a small village five miles west of BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
. Bunyan would often preach in a wood by the River OuseRiver Great OuseThe Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
just outside the village. - The "Hill Difficulty" is AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
Hill, on the main BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
road, the steepest hill in the county. A sandy range of hills stretches across Bedfordshire from WoburnWoburn, BedfordshireWoburn is a small Saxon village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway and is a popular tourist attraction.-History:...
through AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
to PottonPottonPotton is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is 10 miles from Bedford and the population in 2001 was 4,473 people. In 1783 the 'Great Fire of Potton' destroyed a large part of the town. The parish church dates from the 13th Century and is dedicated to St Mary...
. These hills are characterized by dark, dense and dismal woods reminiscent of the byways "Danger" and "Destruction", the alternatives to the way "Difficulty" that goes up the hill; - The pleasant arbour on the way up the Hill Difficulty is a small "lay-by", part way up AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
Hill, on the east side. A photo, taken in 1908, shows a cyclist resting there; - The "very narrow passage" to the "Palace Beautiful" is an entrance cut into the high bank by the roadside to the east at the top of AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
Hill; - The "Palace Beautiful" is Houghton (formerly AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
) House, built in 1621 but a ruin since 1800. The house faced north; and, because of the dramatic view over the BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
plain, it was a popular picnicPicnicIn contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
site during the first half of the twentieth century when many families could not travel far afield;. The tradesman's entrance was on the south side looking out over the town of AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
and towards the Chilterns, the model of "The Delectable Mountains"; - The "Valley of the Shadow of Death" is Millbrook gorge to the west of AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
; - "Vanity Fair" is Stourbridge Fair, held in CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
during late August and early September. It fits John Bunyan's account of the fair's antiquity and its vast variety of goods sold. Other suggested markets or fairs, such as BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, ElstowElstowElstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan, was born here - at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street.-History:...
or AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
, were much too modest to match the description in The Pilgrim's Progress. Sermons were preached each Sunday during Stourbridge Fair in an area called the "Dodderey." John Bunyan preached often in Toft, just four miles west of CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and there is a place known as "Bunyan's Barn" in Toft. It is surmised that Bunyan visited the notable Stourbridge Fair; - The "pillar of salt", Lot's wife, is a weather-beaten statue that looks much like person-sized salt pillar. It is located on small island in the river Ouse just north of Turvey bridge, eight miles west of Bedford near Stevington;
- The "River of the Water of Life", with trees along each bank is the river Ouse east of Bedford, where John Bunyan as a boy would fish with his sister Margaret. It might also be the valley of river Flit, flowing through Flitton and Flitwick south of Ampthill;
- "Doubting Castle" is Ampthill Castle, built in the early 15th century and often visited by King Henry VIII as a hunting lodge. Henry, corpulent and dour, may have been considered by Bunyan to be a model for Giant Despair. Amphill Castle was used for the "house arrest" of Queen Catherine of AragonCatherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
and her retinue in 1535-36 before she was taken to KimboltonKimbolton, CambridgeshireKimbolton is a large village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately east of Higham Ferrers, west of St Neots and west of Cambridge, north of Bedford and south of Peterborough.-Castle:...
. The castle was dismantled soon after 1660, so Bunyan would have seen its towers in the 1650s and known of the empty castle plateau in the 1670s Giant Despair was killed and Doubting Castle was demolished in the second part of The Pilgrim's Progress. - The "Delectable Mountains" are the Chiltern Hills that can be seen from the second floor of Houghton House. "Chalk hills, stretching fifty miles from the Thames to Dunstable Downs, have beautiful blue flowers and butterflies, with glorious beech trees." Reminiscent of the possibility of seeing the Celestial City from Mount Clear, on a clear day one can see London's buildings from Dunstable Downs near Whipsnade Zoo;
- The "Land of Beulah" is Middlesex county north and west of London, which had pretty villages, market gardens, and estates containing beautiful parks and gardens): "woods of Islington to the green hills of Hampstead & Highgate";
- The "very deep river" is the River Thames, one thousand feet wide at high tide; however, in keeping with Bunyan's route to London, the river would be to the north of the city;
- The "Celestial City" is London, center of John Bunyan's world—most of his neighbours never travelled that far. In the 1670s, after the Great Fire of 1666Great Fire of LondonThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, London sported a new, gleaming, city center with forty churches. In the last decade of Bunyan's life (1678–1688) some of his best Christian friends lived in London, including a Lord Mayor.
Cultural Influence
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
devotional works that speak of the soul's path to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, from the Lyke-Wake Dirge
Lyke-Wake Dirge
The "Lyke-Wake Dirge" is a traditional English song that tells of the soul's travel, and the hazards it faces, on its way from earth to Heaven. Though the song is from the Christian era and features references to Christianity much of the symbolism is thought to be of heathen origin.-The title:The...
forward. Bunyan's allegory stands out above his predecessors because of his simple and effective, prose style, steeped in Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
texts and cadences. He confesses his own naïveté in the verse prologue to the book:
- ". . . I did not think
To shew to all the World my Pen and Ink
In such a mode; I only thought to make
I knew not what: nor did I undertake
Thereby to please my Neighbour; no not I;
I did it mine own self to gratifie."
John Bunyan himself wrote a popular hymn that encourages a hearer to become a pilgrim-like Christian: All Who Would Valiant Be
To be a Pilgrim
"To be a Pilgrim" "To be a Pilgrim" "To be a Pilgrim" (also commonly known as "He who would Valiant be" is the only hymn John Bunyan is credited with writing but is indelibly associated with him. It first appeared in Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1684 while he was serving a twelve-year...
.
Because of the widespread longtime popularity of "The Pilgrim's Progress", Christian's hazards — whether originally from Bunyan or borrowed by him from the Bible — the "Slough of Despond", the "Hill Difficulty", "Valley of the Shadow of Death", "Doubting Castle", and the "Enchanted Ground", his temptations (the wares of "Vanity Fair" and the pleasantness of "By-Path Meadow"), his foes ("Apollyon" and "Giant Despair"), and the helpful stopping places he visits (the "House of the Interpreter", the "House Beautiful", the "Delectable Mountains", and the "Land of Beulah") have become commonly used phrases proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
ial in English. For example, "One has one's own Slough of Despond to trudge through."
Famous Christian preacher C.H Spurgeon was influenced by The Pilgrim's Progress and is said to have read the book over 100 times.
Pilgrim's Progresss is listed as one of Mr Tulliver's books in George Elliot
George Elliot
George Elliot may refer to: *George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans , English novelist*George Elliot , British naval officer and Member of Parliament for Roxburghshire 1832–1835...
's "The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y...
".
Context in Christendom
The explicit ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
theology of The Pilgrim's Progress made it much more popular than its predecessors. Bunyan's plain style breathes life into the abstractions of the anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
temptations and abstractions that Christian encounters and with whom he converses on his course to Heaven. Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
said that "this is the great merit of the book, that the most cultivated man cannot find anything to praise more highly, and the child knows nothing more amusing." Three years after its publication (1681), it was reprinted in colonial America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
, and was widely read in the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
colonies.
Because of its explicit English Protestant theology The Pilgrim's Progress shares the then popular English antipathy toward the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. It was published over the years of the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
(1678–1681) and ten years before the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, and it shows the influence of John Foxe
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
's Acts and Monuments
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
. Bunyan presents a decrepit and harmless giant to confront Christian at the end of the Valley of the Shadow of Death that is explicitly named "Pope":
Now I saw in my Dream, that at the end of this Valley lay blood, bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of men, even of Pilgrims that had gone this way formerly: And while I was musing what should be the reason, I espied a little before me a Cave, where two Giants, Pope and Pagan, dwelt in old times, by whose Power and Tyranny the Men whose bones, blood ashes, &c. lay there, were cruelly put to death. But by this place Christian went without much danger, whereat I somewhat wondered; but I have learnt since, that Pagan has been dead many a day; and as for the other, though he be yet alive, he is by reason of age, and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger dayes, grown so crazy and stiff in his joynts, that he can now do little more than sit in his Caves mouth, grinning at Pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails, because he cannot come at them.
When Christian and Faithful travel through Vanity Fair, Bunyan adds the editorial comment:
But as in other fairs, some one Commodity is as the chief of all the fair, so the Ware of RomeRomanismRomanism was a word used as a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism in the past when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States and the United Kingdom...
and her Merchandize is greatly promoted in this fair: Only our English Nation, with some others, have taken a dislike thereat.
In the Second Part while Christiana and her group of pilgrims led by Greatheart stay for some time in Vanity, the city is terrorized by a seven-headed beast which is driven away by Greatheart and other stalwarts. In his endnotes W.R. Owens notes about the woman that governs the beast: "This woman was believed by Protestants to represent Antichrist, the Church of Rome. In a posthumously published treatise, Of Antichrist, and his Ruine (1692), Bunyan gave an extended account of the rise and (shortly expected) fall of Antichrist."
Foreign language versions
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
and widely distributed by Protestant missionaries. Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan , born Hong Renkun, style name Huoxiu , was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.-Early...
, the quasi-Christian leader of the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
, declared that the book was his favorite reading.
The "Third Part"
The Third Part of the Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress: The Third Part is a pseudepigraphic sequel to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress written by an anonymous author. It was published with Bunyan's work in editions from 1693 to 1852 because it was believed to be written by Bunyan. It presents the pilgrimage of...
was written by an anonymous author; beginning in 1693, it was published with Bunyan's authentic two parts. It continued to be republished with Bunyan's work until 1852. This third part presented the pilgrimage of Tender-Conscience and his companions.
Musical settings
The book was the basis of an operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, premiered in 1951; see The Pilgrim's Progress (opera)
The Pilgrim's Progress (opera)
The Pilgrim's Progress is an opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based on John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. The composer himself described the work as a 'Morality' rather than an opera, while nonetheless he intended the work to be performed on stage, rather than in a church or cathedral...
. It was also the basis of a condensed radio adaptation starring John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, including, as background music, several excerpts from Vaughan Williams's orchestral works. This radio version, originally presented in 1942, was newly recorded by Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
in 1990, in a performance conducted by Matthew Best. It again starred Gielgud, and featured Richard Pasco
Richard Pasco
Richard Edward Pasco, CBE is a British stage, screen and TV actor.-Early life:Pasco was born in Barnes, London, the son of Phyllis Irene and Cecil George Pasco. He was educated at the King's College School, Wimbledon...
and Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television....
.
English composer Ernest Austin
Ernest Austin
Ernest Austin was an English composer.-Biography:He started composing in 1907 after a career in business, and was self-taught. He was the brother of baritone and composer Frederic Austin...
set the whole story as a huge narrative tone poem for solo organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, with optional 6-part choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, lasting approximately 2½ hours.
Twin brothers Keith and Kurt Landaas also composed, recorded, and performed a compelling rock opera version of the work in the early 1990s. The first act focused on Christian's journey, the second on that of Christiana, and their teenage son Matthew.
A musical based on the book was presented at the LifeHouse Theater in Redlands, California
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
, in 2004 and 2008, with book, music and lyrics by Kenneth Wright, with additional text, music and lyrics by Wayne Scott.
In 2007 Cuban based duet Quidam Pilgrim
Quidam Pilgrim
Quidam Pilgrim is a Cuban based musical duet formed in 2005 by vocalist Adela Rivas Cruz and keyboardist Félix Muñiz Penedo...
released a musical setting of the book under the name of "Pilgrim" combining elements of alternative rock, Celtic, new age and Cuban folk music. The songs were written in English and Latin, also including one track in Spanish, these were performed on Cuban national television on several occasions receiving a positive audience response.
The Pilgrim's Progress in films, television, video games, and music
The novel was made into a film, Pilgrim's Progress, in 1912.In 1950 an hour-long animated version was made by Baptista Films. This version was edited down to 35 minutes and re-released with new music in 1978. As of 2007 the original version is difficult to find, but the 1978 has been released on both VHS and DVD.
English band Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
released a song titled "Pilgrim's Progress" on their album A Salty Dog
A Salty Dog
A Salty Dog is an album by the Rock band Procol Harum, released in June 1969. Having an ostensibly nautical theme, as indicated by its cover , interspersed with straight rock, blues and pop items A Salty Dog showed a slight change of direction from its predecessors, being thematically less obscure...
in 1969.
In 1979, another film version was made by Ken Anderson
Ken Anderson (filmmaker)
Ken Anderson was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of Christian-themed films, most remembered for his film Pilgrim's Progress, an adaptation of the book of same name The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan...
, in which Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
played the role of the Pilgrim and other smaller roles like the crucified Christ. Maurice O'Callaghan played the Evangelist, and Peter Thomas played Worldly Wiseman. A sequel Christiana followed later.
In 2008, a version by Danny Carrales,Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven is a 2008 Christian film based on John Bunyan’s classic novel The Pilgrim's Progress. It was written and directed by Danny Carrales, and starred Daniel Kruse as Christian...
, was produced.
In 1985 Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
produced a 129-minute 9-part serial presentation of The Pilgrim's Progress with animated stills by Alan Parry and narrated by Paul Copley
Paul Copley
Paul Mackriell Copley is an award-winning English actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Copley was born in Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, and grew up beside a dairy farm there. His father, Harold, was involved with local amateur dramatic productions, as were the rest of his family...
entitled Dangerous Journey.
In 1989, Orion's Gate, a producer of Biblical/Spiritual audio dramas produced The Pilgrim's Progress as a 6 hour audio dramatization. Samples and more information may be found at http://www.OrionsGate.org. This production was followed several years later by Christiana: Pilgrim's Progress Part II, another 8 hour audio dramatization.
In 1993, the popular Christian radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
(produced by Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
), featured a two-part story, titled "Pilgrim's Progress: Revisited."
In 2003 the game Heaven Bound was released by Emerald Studios. The 3D adventure-style game, based on the novel, was only released for the PC.
A 2006 computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
version was made, directed and narrated by Scott Cawthon. The novel is frequently alluded to in the video game Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex: Invisible War is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive. Released simultaneously for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox video game console on December 2, 2003, the game is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex...
. Saman, a significant character, utilizes its allegories to create purpose in his speech; "Young enemy, thy name is Pliable... you bend your ear to the Worldly Wiseman, to continue the archaic analogy.". If the player makes the choice to side with the Templar faction at the end of the game, after the cinematic, the quote appears, taken from both the novel and Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
21:16 - "He that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead."
Curiously, the player's actions towards the Templar faction are not entirely unlike the struggle of Christian throughout the Pilgrim's Progress.
At the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival
San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival
San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival is a film festival located in San Antonio, Texas.- 2007 competition :The winner of the Best of Festival Award was The Monstrous Regiment of Women, a documentary on Feminism by the Gunn brothers who in 2005 won the best documentary for their film...
, the adaptation Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven is a 2008 Christian film based on John Bunyan’s classic novel The Pilgrim's Progress. It was written and directed by Danny Carrales, and starred Daniel Kruse as Christian...
received one nomination for best feature length independent film and one nomination for best music score.
British music band Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
released an album called Pilgrim's Progress
Pilgrim's Progress (album)
-Track listing:All music composed by Crispian Mills/Alonza Bevan.#"Peter Pan R.I.P" – 3:33#"Ophelia" – 3:07#"Modern Blues" – 3:46#"Only Love" – 3:12#"All Dressed Up " – 3:30#"Cavalry" – 2:02 #"Ruby" – 3:06#"Figure It Out" – 3:32...
on June 28, 2010.
Director Todd Fietkau is making a version of Pilgrim's Progress.
The family film The Wylds was inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress.
Editions
- James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1987, ISBN 0-7188-2164-5
- Oxford at the Clarendon Press, edited by James Wharey and Roger Sharrock, providing a critical edition of all 13 editions of both parts from the author's lifetime, 1960, ISBN 0-19-811802-3
- Oxford World's Classics edition, edited by W.R. Owens, Oxford, 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-280361-0
- Penguin Books, edited with an introduction by Roger Sharrock, London, 1965, ISBN 0-14-043004-0
- Pocket Books, New York, 1957
- Altemus Edition, Henry Altemus, 507, 509, 511 and 513 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, 1891
Abridged editions
- The Children's Pilgrim's Progress. The story taken from the work by John Bunyan. New York: Sheldon and Company, 1866.
Retellings
- "The Aussie Pilgrim's Progress" by Kel RichardsKel RichardsKevin Barry "Kel" Richards is an Australian author, journalist and radio personality.Richards has written a series of crime novels and thrillers for adult readers which includes The Case of the Vanishing Corpse, Death in Egypt and An Outbreak of Darkness.Richards presented ABC NewsRadio's weekend...
. Ballarat: Strand Publishing, 2005. - John Bunyan's Dream Story: the Pilgrim's Progress retold for children and adapted to school reading by James Baldwin. New York: American Book Co., 1913.
- John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as retold by Gary D. Schmidt & illustrated by Barry Moser Published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Copyright 1994.
- "The Land of Far-Beyond" by Enid BlytonEnid BlytonEnid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
. Methuen, 1942. - Little Pilgrim's Progress-Helen L. Taylor simplifies the vocabulary and concepts for younger readers, while keeping the story line intact. Published by Moody Press, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1992, 1993.
- Pilgrim's Progress (graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
). Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1993. - The Pilgrim's Progress - A 21st Century Re-telling of the John Bunyan Classic - Dry Ice Publishing, 2008 directed by Danny Carrales http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000768/
- The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read. Edited by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut. Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Co., 1909.
- Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English - as retold by James H. Thomas (ISBN : http://www.amazon.com/dp/080246520X/978-0802465207) - Moody Publishers, 1971.
- The Pilgrim's Progress in Words of One Syllable by Mary Godolphin. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1869.
- Pilgrim's Progress retold and shortened for modern readers by Mary Godolphin (1884). Drawings by Robert Lawson. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1939. [a newly illustrated edition of the retelling by Mary Godolphin]
- The New Amplified Pilgrim's Progress (both book and dramatized audio) - as retold by James Pappas. Published by Orion's Gate (1999). A slightly expanded and highly dramatized version of John Bunyan's original. Large samples of the text are available at http://www.orionsgate.org
- "Quest for Celestia: A Reimagining of The Pilgrim's Progress" by Steven James, 2006
- "The Pilgrim's Progress" A graphic novel by Stephen T. Moore http://www.pilgrimstory.com (c)2011 # ISBN 1461032717 # ISBN 978-1461032717 150 pages.
External links
- Pilgrim's Progress (actual text)
- Pilgrim's Progress (condensed and illustrated)
- Pilgrim's Progress (audio version)
- Audio studies on the characters in Pilgrim's Progress
- Commentary on Pilgrim's Progress (PDF format)
- Biography of Bunyan
- Bunyan Meeting Church Bedford
- John Bunyan Museum Bedford
- Moot Hall Elstow – Museum specialising in 17th C life and John Bunyan
- International John Bunyan Society
- Bunyan Ministries.org Large Bunyan Resource site
- Writings of Bunyan at the Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryChristian Classics Ethereal LibraryThe Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts....
. - Complete works online
- John Bunyan Online Online Bunyan Archive.
- Acacia John Bunyan Online Library
- Anthology of English Literature
- International Literary Quarterly
- Glimpses of Christian History
- Books by Bunyan Sword of the Lord Publishers