The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of the narrative aspect of Christian media.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It has been translated into more than 200 languages and has never been out of print.[7][8] It appeared in Dutch in 1681, in German in 1703 and in Swedish in 1727. The first North American edition was issued in 1681.[9] It has also been cited as the first novel written in English.[10] According to literary editor Robert McCrum, "there's no book in English, apart from the Bible, to equal Bunyan's masterpiece for the range of its readership, or its influence on writers as diverse as William Hogarth, C. S. Lewis, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, George Bernard Shaw, William Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Enid Blyton."[11][12] The words on which the hymn "To be a Pilgrim" is based come from the novel.
For other uses, see Pilgrim's Progress (disambiguation).Author
The Pilgrim's Progreſs from This World, to That Which Is to Come
English
1678 (first volume)
1684 (second volume)
828.407
PR3330.A2 K43
Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county prison for violations of the Conventicle Act 1664, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England. Early Bunyan scholars such as John Brown believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second, shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675,[13] but more recent scholars such as Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660 to 1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.[14]
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 22 December 1677. It was licensed and entered in the "Term Catalogue" on 18 February 1678, which is looked upon as the date of first publication.[15] 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.
Plot summary[edit]
First Part[edit]
The entire book is presented as a dream sequence narrated by an omniscient narrator. The allegory's protagonist, Christian, is an everyman character, and the plot centres on his journey from his hometown, the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come": Heaven) atop Mount 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 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.[16] 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, a boggy mire-like swamp where pilgrims' doubts, fears, temptations, lusts, shames, guilts, and sins of their present condition of being a sinner are used to sink them into the mud of the swamp. It is there in that bog where Pliable abandons Christian after getting himself out. After struggling to the other side of the slough, Christian is pulled out by Help, who has heard his cries and tells him the swamp is made out of the decadence, scum, and filth of sin, but the ground is good at the narrow Wicket Gate.
Christian, who was born with the name Graceless, the protagonist in the First Part, whose journey to the Celestial City is the of the story.
plot
Evangelist, the religious man who puts Christian on the path to the Celestial City. He also shows Christian a scroll on which is written: "Flee from the wrath to come," a possible symbol of the .
Bible
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. Like his name, he is stubborn and is disgusted with Christian and with Pliable for making a journey that he thinks is nonsense.
Pliable, the other of the two, who goes with Christian until both of them fall into the Slough of Despond, a boggy mire composed of the decadence and filthiness of sin and a swamp that makes the fears and doubts of a present and past sinner real. Pliable escapes from the slough and returns home. Like his name, he is insecure and goes along with some things for a little while but quickly gives up on them.
Help, Christian's rescuer from the Slough of Despond.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman, a resident of a place called Carnal Policy, who persuades Christian to go out of his way to being helped by a friend named Mr. Legality and then move to the City of Morality (which focuses salvation on the Law and good deeds instead of faith and love in Jesus Christ). His real advice is from the world and not from God, meaning his advice is flawed and consists of three objectives: getting Christian off the right path, making the cross of Jesus Christ offensive to him, and binding him to the Law so he would die with his sins. Worldly Wiseman has brought down many innocent pilgrims and there will be many more to come.
Goodwill, the keeper of the 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.
Wicket Gate
, literally "Lord of the Flies," is one of Satan's companion archdemons, who has erected a fort near the Wicket Gate from which he and his soldiers can shoot arrows of fire at those about to enter the Wicket Gate so they will never enter it. He is also the lord, god, king, master, and prince of Vanity Fair. Christian calls him "captain" of the Foul Fiend Apollyon, who he later met in the Valley of Humiliation.[14]
Beelzebub
The Interpreter, the one who has his House along the way as a rest stop for travellers to check in to see pictures and to teach them the right way to live the Christian life. He has been identified in the Second Part as the Holy Spirit.
dioramas
Shining Ones, the messengers and servants of "the Lord of the Hill," . They are obviously the holy angels.
God
Formalist, one of two travelers and false pilgrims 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 sepulchres 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.
, the companion of Formalist and the other false pilgrim. He takes the other of the two bypaths and is also lost.
Hypocrisy
Timorous, one of two men who try to persuade Christian to go back for fear of the chained lions near the House Beautiful. He is a relative of Mrs. Timorous of the Second Part. His companion is Mistrust.
Mistrust, the other of the two men who tried to persuade Christian back because of the lions. He is the companion of Timorous. Later, he and Timorous were executed for trying to convince Christian.
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.
, literally "Destroyer;" the king, lord, god, master, prince, owner, landlord, ruler, governor, and leader of the City of Destruction where Christian was born. He is an image of Satan, 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 huge demonic creature with fish's scales, the mouth of a lion, feet of a bear, second mouth on his belly, and dragon's wings. He takes fiery darts from his body to throw at his opponents. Apollyon is finally defeated when Christian uses the Sword of the Spirit to wound him two times.
Apollyon
"Pope" and "Pagan," giants living in a cave at the end of the fearsome Valley of the Shadow of Death. They are allegories of 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. In the Second Part, Pagan is resurrected by a demon from the bottomless pit of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, representing the new age of pagan persecution, and Pope is revived of his deadly wounds and is no longer stiff and unable to move, representing the beginning of the Christian's troubles with Roman Catholic popes.
Roman Catholicism
Faithful, Christian's friend from the City of Destruction, who is also going on pilgrimage. Christian meets Faithful just after getting through the Valley of The Shadow of Death. He dies later in Vanity Fair for his strong faith and first reaches the Celestial City.
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 and deceit) who tries to persuade Faithful to leave his journey and come live with his three daughters: the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life.
Moses, the severe, violent avenger (representing the Law, which knows no mercy) who tries to kill Faithful for his momentary weakness in wanting to go with Adam the First out of the way. Moses is sent away by Jesus Christ.
Talkative, a pilgrim that Faithful and Christian meet after going through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He is known to Christian as a fellow resident of the City of Destruction, living on Prating Row. He is the son of Say-Well and Mrs. Talk-About-The-Right Things. He is said to be better-looking from a distance than close up. His enthusiasm for talking about his faith to Faithful deceives him into thinking that he is a sincere man. Christian lets Faithful know about his unsavoury past, and in a conversation that Faithful strikes up with him, he is exposed as shallow and hypocritical in his Christianity.
Lord Hate-Good, the evil judge who tries Faithful in Vanity Fair. Lord Hate-Good is the opposite of a judge, he hates right and loves wrong because he does wrong himself. His jury is twelve vicious rogue men.
Envy, the first witness against Faithful who falsely accuses that Faithful shows no respect for their prince, Lord Beelzebub.
Superstition, the second witness against Faithful who falsely accuses Faithful of saying that their religion is vain.
Pick-Thank, the third witness against Faithful who falsely accuses Faithful of going against their prince, their people, their laws, their "honourable" friends, and the judge himself.
Hopeful, the resident of Vanity Fair, who takes Faithful's place as Christian's fellow traveller. 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 "," biblically the same as "faith," is trust in God as far as things of the future are concerned. Hopeful would follow Faithful. The other factor is that Vanity Fair is right on the straight and narrow way. Ignorance, in contrast to Hopeful, was unconcerned about the end times of God, unconcerned with true faith in Jesus Christ, and gave false hope about the future. Ignorance was told by Christian and Hopeful that he should have entered the highway through the Wicket Gate.
hope
Mr. By-Ends, a false pilgrim met by Christian and Hopeful after they leave Vanity Fair. He makes it his aim to avoid any hardship or persecution that Christians may have to undergo. He supposedly perishes in the Hill Lucre (a dangerous silver mine) with three of his friends, Hold-the-World, Money-Love, and Save-All, at the behest of Demas, who invites passersby to come and see the mine. A "by-end" is a pursuit that is achieved indirectly. For By-Ends and his companions it is the pursuit of financial gain, indirectly through religion.
Demas, a deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill Lucre to come and join in the supposed silver mining going on in it. He is first mentioned in the Book of Second Timothy by the disciple Paul when he said, "Demas has deserted us because he loved the world". Demas tries two ways to trick Christian and Hopeful: first, he claims that the mine is safe and they will be rich, and then he claims that he is a pilgrim and will join them on their journey. Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, is able to rebuke Demas and expose his lies.
Giant Despair, the savage owner of Doubting Castle, where pilgrims are imprisoned and tortured. He is slain by Greatheart in the Second Part.
Giantess Diffidence, Despair's wife, known to be cruel, savage, violent, and evil like her husband. She is slain by Old Honest in the Second Part.
, one of the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.
Knowledge
, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
Experience
Watchful, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
Sincere, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
Ignorance, "the brisk young lad" (representing foolishness and conceit) 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. For him, Jesus Christ is only an example, not a Saviour. Christian and Hopeful try to set him right, but they fail. He gets a ferryman, Vain-Hope, to ferry him across the River 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 upon hearing this, then, orders that he be bound and cast into Hell.
The Flatterer, a deceiver dressed as an angel 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.
City of Destruction, Christian's home, representative of the world (cf. Isaiah 19:18)
, 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, sank further under the weight of his sins (his burden) and his sense of their guilt.
Slough of Despond
, a frightening mountain near the Village of Morality that threatens all who would go there.
Mount Sinai
, the entry point of the straight and narrow way to the Celestial City. Pilgrims are required to enter by way of the Wicket Gate. Beelzebub's castle was built not very far from the Gate.
Wicket Gate
House of the Interpreter, a type of spiritual museum to guide the pilgrims to the Celestial City, 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 (Acts 3:2, 10).
Second Temple
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, protected by God's Armor, meets Apollyon and they had that dreadful, long fight where Christian was victorious over his enemy by impaling Apollyon on his Sword of the Spirit (Word of God) which caused the Foul Fiend to fly away. Apollyon met Christian 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, devilish Valley filled with demons, dragons, fiends, satyrs, goblins, hobgoblins, monsters, creatures from the bottomless pit, beasts from the mouth of Hell, darkness, terror, and horror with a bog on one side and a deep chasm/ditch on the other side of the King's Highway going through it (cf. Psalm 23).
quicksand
Gaius' Inn, a rest stop in the Second Part of the Pilgrim's Progress.
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. "Lucre" is a term denoting .
wealth
The Pillar of Salt, which was , 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.
Lot's wife
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 Giantess wife, Diffidence; only one key could open its doors and gates, the key Promise.
The Delectable Mountains, known as "'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.
Immanuel
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.
, a lush garden area just this side of the River of Death.
The Land of Beulah
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
[58]
In 1850, a moving panorama of Pilgrim's Progress, known as the Bunyan Tableuax or the Grand Moving Panorama of Pilgrim's Progress was painted by Joseph Kyle and and displayed in New York; an early copy of this panorama survives and is at the Saco Museum in Maine.
Edward Harrison May
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 version has been released on both VHS and DVD.
[72]
In 1951 the first performance of the opera The Pilgrim's Progress, composed by , was presented at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
In 1978, another film version was made by , in which Liam Neeson, in his film debut, played the role of the Evangelist[73] and also appeared as the crucified Christ.[74] Maurice O'Callaghan played Appolyon and Worldly Wiseman,[75] and Peter Thomas played The Pilgrim/Christian.[76][75] A sequel, Christiana, followed later.[77]
Ken Anderson
In 1978 a musical based loosely on Bunyan's characters and the story was written by Nick Taylor and Alex Learmont. The musical [originally titled Pilgrim] was produced for the Natal Performing Arts Council under the title "Christian!" or Follow the Man with the Big Bass Drum in the Holy Glory Band, and ran to capacity houses for the 1979/80 summer season in Durban's Old Alhambra Theatre. The show moved to Johannesburg in March 1980 and ran for a further three months at His Majesty's Theatre. After a substantial re-write Christian! was again mounted at the new Playhouse in Durban for the 1984 Christmas season. The musical has been performed many times since by schools and amateur theatrical groups in South Africa. After 30 years the show is again attracting attention both locally and abroad and the score and libretto are being updated and made more flexible for large and small productions.
[78]
In 1985 produced a 129-minute nine-part serial presentation of The Pilgrim's Progress with animated stills by Alan Parry and narrated by Paul Copley entitled Dangerous Journey.
Yorkshire Television
In 1988, and Danzig (band) released their controversial music video from their song "Mother" which included the quote "Then I saw there was a way to Hell from the gates of Heaven" in the beginning of the music video from The Pilgrim's Progress.
Glenn Danzig
In 1989, Orion's Gate, a producer of Biblical / Spiritual audio dramas produced The Pilgrim's Progress as a six-hour audio dramatization. This production was followed several years later by Christiana: Pilgrim's Progress, Part II, another 8 hour audio dramatization.
[79]
In 1989, released The Ocean Blue which includes the song "Vanity Fair" which includes lyrics that reference The Pilgrim's Progress.
The Ocean Blue
In 1993, the popular Christian radio drama, (produced by Focus on the Family), featured a two-part story, titled "Pilgrim's Progress: Revisited." This two-parter was written and directed by Phil Lollar.
Adventures in Odyssey
The 1993 video game features a map called "Slough of Despair" (E3M2: episode 3, map 2).
Doom
In the 1990s Kurt and Keith Landaas, composed, directed and performed a compelling stage two-act modern rock opera adaptation of Pilgrims Progress. It involved five principal characters and a cast choral of about 20 members. It was performed in the Lambs theatre in NYC in 1994 and other tri-state venues. A studio recording was also produced and distributed.
In 1994, The Pilgrim's Progress and the imprisonment of John Bunyan were the subject of the musical Celestial City by David MacAdam, with John Curtis, and an album was released in 1997.
[80]
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.
[81]
developer Scott Cawthon directed and narrated a 2005 computer animation version of the book, and also produced a video game adaptation.
Five Nights at Freddy's
In 2008, a film version by Danny Carrales, , was produced. It received one nomination for best feature length independent film and one nomination for best music score at the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.
Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven
In 2003 Michael W. Smith wrote a song, called "Signs", which he says on his A 20 Year Celebration live DVD to be inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress.
Jim Winder (www.Jim-Winder.com) performs a live telling of Pilgrim's Progress (the first part) with contemporary Christian songs based on the story line and Biblical content.
[82]
Season 7, episode 16 of (17 May 2009) is a parody of The Pilgrim's Progress called "Peter's Progress."
Family Guy
In 2010, FishFlix.com released A Pilgrim's Progress – The Story of John Bunyan, a DVD documentary about Bunyan's life narrated by Derick Bingham, filmed on location in England.
[83]
In 2010, writer / director Andrew Wiest directed The Adventures of Chris Fable (aka The Wylds) bringing John Bunyan's novel The Pilgrim's Progress to life on the screen with this family friendly fantasy adventure about a young runaway on a quest to find his long lost father. The movie was released on video and streaming in 2012.
In 2013, Puritan Productions company announced the premiere of its dramatization with ballet & chorus accompaniment in Fort Worth, Texas at the W.E. Scott Theatre[85] on 18–19 October 2013. Subsequent productions by the same company in Garland, Texas at the Granville Arts Center on 24–26 October 2014, and in Austin, Texas, accompanied by ballet & chorus, at Park Hills Baptist Church on 4–5 November 2016.
[84]
In 2014, a -supported novel called The Narrow Road was published. It is based on The Pilgrim's Progress, and was written by Erik Yeager and illustrated by Dave dela Gardelle.
Kickstarter
In March 2015, director Darren Wilson announced a campaign to produce a full-length feature film based on The Pilgrims Progress called Heaven Quest: A Pilgrim's Progress Movie.[86]
Kickstarter
The Band released their 2nd album titled The Similitude of a Dream on 11 November 2016, a 2 CD concept album based on the book The Pilgrim's Progress. On 25 January 2019, a follow-up 2 CD album, The Great Adventure, was released to continue re-telling the story from the perspective of Christian's son.
Neal Morse
In 2019 a computer-animated film adaptation titled was released and featured the voice of John Rhys-Davies.[87]
The Pilgrim's Progress
The allegory was adapted into a dramatic, serialized podcast, High and Silver Presents: The Pilgrim's Progress, in 2022.
The album by progressive metal deathcore band Slice the Cake is loosely inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress, and includes a track named after the novel.
Odyssey to the West
Bunyan, John The Pilgrim's Progress. Edited by Roger Sharrock and J. B. Wharey. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975) 0198118023. The standard critical edition, originally published in 1928 and revised in 1960 by Sharrock.[88]
ISBN
Bunyan, John The Pilgrim's Progress. Edited with an introduction and notes by Roger Sharrrock. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987) 0140430040. The text is based on the 1975 Clarendon edition (see above), but with modernised spelling and punctuation "to meet the needs of the general reader".[88]
ISBN
Bunyan, John The Pilgrim's Progress. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) 978-0-19-280361-0.
ISBN
(Project Gutenberg etext)
The Pilgrim's Progress
🔊 Dramatized podcast of the Pilgrim's Progress.
High & Silver Presents: The Pilgrim's Progress
. (Ebook, PDF layout and fonts inspired by 18th century publications
The Pilgrim's Progress: parts I & II
PDF Ebook – French translation of The Pilgrim's Progress