# Why is "Pilgrim's Progress" considered a classic of English literature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345 "2006-12-15T22:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/21 "2006-12-16T19:11:49Z")
I had to read it in College. I thought it was brutal and told the professor so. He agreed with me but thought it should be read (in a western religion survey class) because of its historical significance. My favorite part is when all the Christians in heaven get to watch all the sinners burn in Hell. What fun is Heaven if you can’t see the sinners get tortured? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/22 "2006-12-16T20:05:12Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] The fact that many common expressions have their genesis in _The Pilgrim’s Progress_, for me, at least, qualifies it as a classic. > [@](#): > > Because of the widespread longtime popularity of this classic, Christian’s hazards—whether originally from Bunyan or borrowed by him from the Bible—the “Slough of Despond,” the “Hill Difficulty,” “Valley of the Shadow of Death,” “Doubting Castle,” and the “Enchanted Ground”, his temptations (the wares of “Vanity Fair” and the pleasantness of “By-Path Meadow”), his foes (“Apollyon” and “Giant Despair”), and the helpful stopping places he visits (the “House of the Interpreter,” the “House Beautiful,” the “Delectable Mountains,” and the “Land of Beulah”) as phrases have become proverbial in English. For example, “One has one’s own Slough of Despond to trudge through.” [/QUOTE] I have never heard or read any of these, IRL or on the Dope. Are they actually common? Dang, I missed my 1000th post milestone. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/23 "2006-12-16T20:24:19Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Have they done a [Lego version](http://www.thebricktestament.com/index.html) yet? I’ll only read it if it’s done in Legos. [/QUOTE] I’m waiting for someone to provide a summary at [Book-A-Minute](http://rinkworks.com/bookaminute/). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/24 "2006-12-16T20:26:10Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] I have never heard or read any of these, IRL or on the Dope. Are they actually common? [/QUOTE] I’m sure you’ve heard of “Vanity Fair” – see the classic Thackeray novel and the contemporary fashion magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Procyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@Procyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procyon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/25 "2006-12-16T21:15:32Z")
Mark Twain mentions this book in _Huckleberry Finn_: > [@](#): > > [The table in the Grangerford house] had a cover made out of beautiful oilcloth, with a red and blue spread-eagle painted on it, and a painted border all around. It come all the way from Philadelphia, they said. There was some books, too, piled up perfectly exact, on each corner of the table. One was a big family Bible full of pictures. One was _Pilgrim’s Progress_, about a man that left his family, it didn’t say why. I read considerable in it now and then. The statements was interesting, but tough. It is left to the reader to decide if the Grangerford family’s use of the tome to hold their tablecloth in place is an insight into them or into Twain himself. The term _muckraker_ also originated in _Pilgrim’s Progress_. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/26 "2006-12-16T23:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [“Ethan Brand”?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne#Writings) [/QUOTE] No. It’s a tale about a guy on a path to heaven or something, told as an allegory. ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/27 "2006-12-17T00:50:31Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] In _Little Women_, the girls spend a lot of time acting out scenes from the book. [/QUOTE] Hi **Lissa**! I stopped by to say the very same thing but you got here first. Hey, you know what? I’m going to start a _Little Women_ thread. Come on over and join it. **BrainGlutton** , apologies for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/28 "2006-12-17T09:15:29Z")
I don’t think it’s really considered a great classic of literature. It’s important, historically, but it’s not a great classic in the sense of Shakespeare’s work or Dickens’s, for example, which are classics because of their quality, not their historical significance. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/29 "2006-12-17T12:40:32Z")
I’d have to put it, annoying as it is, in the top _allegories_ in literature, of any language (English for some reason is notable for producing allegory). The fact that people avoid allegories like an overused cliche these days doesn’t enter into it. It’s much like reading _Don Quixote_ without being aware that it was a perfectly structured satire on the heroic romance genre – so much so that it totally skewered it into oblivion! ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/30 "2006-12-17T19:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] I think it’s important to remember that when Bunyan wrote his book, there weren’t exactly a whole lot of novels or storybooks floating around, and a lot of stories were regarded as morally degenerate by the Puritans. _Pilgrim’s Progress_ provided an improving, often interesting story that was suitable for kids–and which could even be read on Sundays, when many people considered it improper to engage in any kind of entertainment whatsoever. As a result, it became favorite Sunday reading for generations of children–serving as both reading primer and moral instruction–and was frequently the only book besides a Bible that a family owned. It’s a classic in the popular sense, not because it was necessarily Great Literature like Milton, but because ordinary people read and loved it, and it formed part of the furniture of their minds and part of the common culture. At one time, it _was_ a “well-loved classic,” but not so much any more. [/QUOTE] Exactly. It’s a ‘classic’ in the sense of being a milestone, a historically important book, not in the sense of being a universally loved ripping yarn in the vein of ‘Robinson Crusoe’. A lot of ground-breaking books are phenomenally dull and miserable to read, just because the language and the storytelling conventions are very different to what we are used to. I remember an English Lit class where one of the girls was baffled by Tess of the D’Urbervilles being pregnant, because she had read right through the relevant passage without realising what was going on :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/31 "2006-12-17T23:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] …I remember an English Lit class where one of the girls was baffled by Tess of the D’Urbervilles being pregnant, because she had read right through the relevant passage without realising what was going on :smack: [/QUOTE] I didn’t know they had _in vitro_ fertilization in Tess’s day. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/32 "2006-12-17T23:22:15Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] I’d have to put it, annoying as it is, in the top _allegories_ in literature, of any language (English for some reason is notable for producing allegory). [/QUOTE] What are some others? And is there such thing as non-homiletic allegory? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/33 "2006-12-18T00:05:01Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] What are some others? And is there such thing as non-homiletic allegory? [/QUOTE] I haven’t seen very many allegories, but Hawthorne (as noted) had some. The Glass Bead game could probably be viewed as an allegory. A Thousand Years of Solitude, likewise. To some extent, any story with a message is an allegory… ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/34 "2006-12-18T01:22:07Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] What are some others? [/QUOTE] Oh dear, I read rather a lot of allegories in college, and looking through my bookshelves from English 110A, I find a couple. There is Prudentius’ _Psychomachia_, or “The fight for Mansoul,” which is a story about the fight between virtues and vices in a soul. I have two commentaries on allegorical interpretations of the _Aeneid_, by Fulgentis (6th c.) and Bernardus Silvestris (12th c.). And there were, of course, lots of allegorical interpretations of scripture. A good book to read is C. S. Lewis’ _The allegory of love_, which discusses the zillions of allegories on courtly love from the 11th through the 16th centuries. It’s quite an interesting book if medieval romance is your thing. And finally, of course, Spenser’s _Faerie Queene_ is allegorical in nature as well. Hah, now I’ve brought it up twice! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/35 "2006-12-18T02:05:28Z")
Where is the **Fretful Porpentine** when you need her? This ought to be right up her alley in terms of expertise. While modern usage applies the term to any writing in which persons, items, etc. are invested with a symbolic meaning going beyond their actual physical attributes, the classic Medieval/Renaissance allegory was very much in-your-face. If a character was supposed to represent every man, he was named Everyman. If the lead character was a Christian going on a pilgrimage to find God, and falling into despondence, he was named Christian, and would end up in the Slough of Despond. Or the symbolism might be lightly veiled: Elizabeth I might be the Faerie Queene, with her courtiers symbolized by the various knights and such of the FC’s court. I could write one in which a flaming bush leads his people into warfare in the desert, and it would be an allegory of 21st Century America. Unfortunately, that plot has already been done! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/36 "2006-12-18T02:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] To some extent, any story with a message is an allegory… [/QUOTE] Put another way, is there such thing as an allegory with no message? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/37 "2006-12-18T03:13:13Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] A good book to read is C. S. Lewis’ _The allegory of love_, which discusses the zillions of allegories on courtly love from the 11th through the 16th centuries. It’s quite an interesting book if medieval romance is your thing. [/QUOTE] And then there’s [The Pilgrim’s Regress](http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrims-Regress-Allegorical-Christianity-Romanticism/dp/0802806414/sr=1-1/qid=1166410806/ref=sr_1_1/002-4977424-6220818?ie=UTF8&s=books), one of Lewis’s earliest books, which is an allegory very much in the Bunyan vein. For what it’s worth, I’ve read _The Pilgrim’s Progress_ and actually enjoyed it, though it’s been so long ago that I don’t remember it well enough to give much of a defense of why I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/38 "2006-12-18T04:44:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Where is the Fretful Porpentine when you need her? This ought to be right up her alley in terms of expertise. I’m here! In the midst of job-market hell, and I haven’t actually _read_ Pilgrim’s Progress, but if we’re moving on to “what are the great allegories in English literature?” William Langland’s _Piers Plowman_ surely deserves a mention. I’m thinking that _The Revenger’s Tragedy_ (by Cyril Tourneur, or possibly Thomas Middleton – take your pick) _might_ count as a non-homiletic allegory. It’s about a character named Vindice (Revenge), whose girlfriend has been murdered by the Duke, coming up with increasingly clever and nasty ways to bump off various members of the Duke’s household (including his sons and stepsons Lussurioso, Spurio, Ambitioso, and Supervacuo). Granted, the play does have a moral of sorts, but most of the fun comes from cheering on the revenger as he comes up with new and interesting ways to murder people, so it’s not stressed very heavily. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/39 "2006-12-18T12:43:10Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] Because it needs translation. What the hell is _slough_, anyway? :dubious: [/QUOTE] Amongst other things, it’s the setting for The Office - despond indeed… [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/slough/](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/slough/) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345/40 "2006-12-18T21:44:17Z")
> [@](#): > > by **Sage Rat** > I haven’t read the Pilgrim’s Progress, but Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story (I can’t recall if it was also titled The Pilgrim’s Progress, or if it was just in a similar vein) is pretty darn good. So that’s at least one good thing about it. “The Celestial Railroad” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-pilgrims-progress-considered-a-classic-of-english-literature/384345.md?page=3)