The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come
delivered under the similitude of a dream, wherein is discovered
the manner of his setting out, his dangerous journey, and safe
arrival at the desired country / by John Bunyan, ed. with
introduction and notes by William Vaughn Moody Bunyan, John,
1628-1688 The Pilgrim's Progress (Part I 1678/Part II 1684)
holds a unique place in the history of English literature. No
other seventeenth-century work except the King James Bible,
nothing from the pen of a writer of Bunyan's social class in any
period, and no other Christian work, has enjoyed such an
extensive readership. The pilgrim Christian, Mr Worldly Wiseman,
Giant Despair, Hopeful, and Ignorance are engaged in a powerful
drama set against a solidly realistic background of town and
country. Bunyan captures the speech of ordinary people as
accurately as he depicts their behaviour and appearance and as
firmly as he realizes their inner emotional and spiritual life.
The tale is related in language re