Pilgrim's Progress

an allegory (1678) by John Bunyan.

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▪ work by Bunyan

      religious allegory by the English writer John Bunyan, a symbolic vision of the good man's pilgrimage through life, at one time second only to the Bible in popularity. Part I (1678), in which Christian travels toward the Celestial City, is presented as the author's dream. He has fled the City of Destruction on the advice of Evangelist but has failed to persuade his family to accompany him. His journey takes him through dangers and distractions that have become proverbial, including the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and Doubting Castle. His anguished struggle toward salvation, though it dominates Part I, does not totally eclipse other, contrasting, qualities. Written in homely, yet dignified biblical prose, the work has some of the qualities of a folktale; and in its humour and realistic portrayals of Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Hopeful, Pliant, and Obstinate, it anticipates the 18th-century novel. In Part II (1684), which deals with the effort of Christian's wife, Christiana, and children to join him, the psychological intensity is relaxed and the capacity for humour and realistic observation becomes more evident. Christian's family, aided and accompanied by Great-heart, has a somewhat easier time because Christian has smoothed the way, and even such companions as Mrs. Much-afraid and Mr. Ready-to-halt manage to complete the journey.

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