John Bunyan

His style
• Bunyan wrote in a simple but lively and
vivid prose style . • His biblical language enabled him to narrate his stories and reveal his ideas in a direct and straightforward way.
plot
• Christian with a heavy on his back reading the •
Bible City of Destruction will be destroyed someday by a big fire Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, Doubting Castle, the Valley of Humiliation, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Hopeful, Giant Despair, the foul fiend Apollyon reaching the Celestial City,
• became Nonconformist preacher in 1655
Piety, Bible, Prayer Book
• imprisoned for unlicensed preaching in
1660 • In 1675 he was imprisoned again.
orks
John Bunyan( 1628-1688)
• a poor tinker ‘s family • received very little formal education • enlisted into the Parliamentary Army

• At sixteen, Bunyan enlisted in the army as a solider and fought in the English Civil War.
• Bunyan was received into the Baptist Church in 1653.
• He started preaching in Bedford and nearby villages and gained an immense, popular following wherever he preached, earning the nickname “Bishop Bunyan”
• His severe and self-critical moral code provides the backdrop to Christian’s earnest and impassioned search for salvation in The Pilgrim’s Progress.
The Title: The Pilgrim’s Progress
• The Pilgrim’s Progress is about travel or, journey and the meaning that one man’s travel comes to acquire.
• Therefore the geographical wandering across the lands is also a spiritual development, which is the “progress” referred to in the title.
• Why Bunyan was insistent in preaching despite the threat of imprisonment.

2. Elizabethan literature is generally inspiring; it throbs with youth and vitality.
Puritan literature speaks of sadness and pessimism; even its brightest hours are followed by gloom.
3. Elizabethan literature is intensely romantic.
In Puritan literature a critical and intellectual spirit takes the place of romantic ardor.
John Bunyan (1628-1688)
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners 上帝
赐予最大罪人的无限恩惠
The Holy War 圣战 Pilgrim's Progress
天路历程 The Life and Death of
Mr. Badman 坏人先生传
Theme
Major theme: spiritual salvation for mankind
The cost of salvation is great. The road to salvation is difficult and lonely. Man must earn every bit of salvation.
Differences between Puritan and Elizabethan Literature
1. Elizabethan literature has a marked unity in spirit, resulting from the patriotism of all classes and their devotion to a queen.

John Bunyan and V anity FairJohn Bunyan was born in the little village of Elstow in 1628, and he lived a miserable life which hadn’t changed until he got married. After his marriage, he read the books The Plain Man’s Pathway to Heaven and the Practice of Piety his wife had brought with her, which gave fire to his imagination. Finishing reading the two books, John Bunyan went to church frequently and began slowly and painfully to read the Bible. Soon, led by his intense feelings, he becomes an open-air preacher. With his strength and sincerity, John Bunyan was regarded as the leader of an immense congregation. Unfortunately, he was put into prison, and his imprisonment lasted for almost twenty years. His most famous book,the pilgrim’s progress, was probably written when he was in prison. The book was published in 1687, which made him the most famous writer and popular preacher in England.There’s no doubt what John Bunyan had experienced has a profound effect on his worksIn his work, Bunyan informed us that the way to the Celestial City lay through a town in which a great local fair was kept. Every Pilgrim, he told us, must pass through this place, or else they “must needs go out of the world”. The place was called “V anity Fair”.From earliest times numerous fairs were held for stated periods throughout Britain, and the most important merchants from all over Europe brought their wares there. The serious buying and selling was accompanied by all sorts of diversions—eating, drinking, and other fleshly pleasures, as well as spectacles of strange animals, acrobats, and other wonders. In V anity Fair,nothing is hidden away, and it is a ready market in the promotion of the sin.As we can see, Christian and his companion Faithful had a very low estimate of the world and the world’s goods. When they got to the V anity Fair, they caused quite a stir, which was on account of three main reasons. The first one was their strange clothes. The pilgrims were clothed with raiment as was diverse from the raiment of any that traded in the fair. Therefore, people in the fair gazed upon them and began to discuss who they were. The second reason was their language. People not only wondered at their apparel, but also could not understand what they said, because the pilgrims and the people in the fair were from different worlds. The third reason was that, the pilgrims paid little attention to the wares in the fair, which amused the merchandisers. When asked what they want to buy, the pilgrims reply “We buy the truth”caused a greater stir in the fair. As a result, they were regarded as madmen and they were beaten. What was worse, after besmeared with dirt, they were put into an iron cage to the gaze of all the inhabitants of that place.Needless to say, V anity Fair had no time for such men, as the world has no time for such believers today! Faithfulness was burnt at the stake in V anity Fair. Only by adhering their principles, could the pilgrims continue their travel.John Bunyan, as we can see from his work, was not only a great writer, but a gallant fighter, fighting against the immortal thought and actions people owned. His wonderful writing skills and indomitable spirit left us a deep impression.。