Pilgrim’s Progress, The, is a widely read book written by the English preacher John Bunyan. The book is a two-part religious allegory, in which people and places represent vices and virtues. The book is a symbolic vision of the human pilgrimage through life. Because of its appeal to a broad range of readers from all classes of society, some scholars have called The Pilgrim’s Progress the most influential book in the English language after the King James Version of the Bible.
Bunyan wrote the first part of The Pilgrim’s Progress while in jail on a charge of preaching outside the supervision of the Church of England, which was the nation’s official church. Part I in was published in 1678 and part II in 1684.
Bunyan wrote part I as a dream. Christian, the hero, sets out from the City of Destruction to go to the Celestial City (heaven). On the way, he meets people who try to harm him, such as the fiend Apollyon and Giant Despair. Others, such as Interpreter and Faithful, help him. After many adventures, Christian finally crosses the River of Death and reaches the Celestial City. Part II tells how Christian’s wife, Christiana, and their children make their own pilgrimage to the Celestial City.
In addition to its religious influence, The Pilgrim’s Progress played an important role in the development of realistic prose fiction. The book tells a colorful story based on the Bible and on the everyday life of Bedfordshire, Bunyan’s home. Aspects of the book—its lively characters, the vividness of its geography, and its details of daily living—have influenced important English novelists. They range from Daniel Defoe in the 1600’s to Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and William Makepeace Thackeray in the 1800’s.
See also Allegory; Bunyan, John.
