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Bit playing the "what's the sub text here?" game is genuinely beneficial for encouraging independent thinking, i reckon! 😀

I mean there's also the whole Freudian thing about self actualising by killing your father, an idea he has in common with Nietzsche. (This may not be one to tell the kids, though.)

I think of it as a class uprising against a monarch with delusions of grandeur, a la Milton. So thats similar. I genuinely believe these interpretations should be made available to the young to encourage scepticism and analytical thinking.

I will check it out again!

Chaucer is a wonderful read. Malory I have only read extracts from in modern language. I started on Spenser's The Faerie Queene a while ago, but I found the allegory all a bit hifalutin - I think this is probably unfair and should give it another go. But if you're used to Chaucer, Bunyan is easy.

secular perspective. I also don't mean to disparage Pilgrim's Progress by called it a good mental exercise. I am enjoying it. It's just not a white knuckle ride, and the language will take some acclimatising to if you're not au fait with 17th Century grammar.

I hope that answers your question!

I think it's interesting as a mental exercise. I wouldn't call it a gripping read. And bear in mind I enjoy reading works that have a level of archaism or obscurity. I sometimes read Old English translations of The Bible for fun. I should make clear, I'm an atheist, and read cultural items from a /

the central character, called Christian (I told you it was obvious allegory) as he goes on a journey to save his soul, encountering helps and hindrances on the way. There are phrases he minted which became common parlance, eg: "The Slough of Despond" as a term for despair.

the story. It's a fascinating mixture of absolutely obvious allegories and some subtle theological points. It's designed to inspire the ordinary person to a life of faith, and it has a drive and energy that is quite fascinating. Despite paper-thin characterisation, one does start to identify with /

This is done with some wonderful metaphorical flourishes, for example comparing rain from the grey clouds (ie, his dull book - he is self-deprecating) to his message, that might nourish the crops (ie: people) despite being so grey. It's a good poem, and well argued.

Next we get into /

discusses his writing journey - how he intended to write a completely different book, the the allegories just piled up until he abandoned his original scheme to follow this one. He also discusses his friends' various attitudes to the book, some urging him to publish, others telling him otherwise. /

He was from a nonconformist family, ie: not affiliated to the Church of England, and thus independent in thinking. One of my specialisms at Uni was 17th Century English Lit (excluding Shakespeare, who had his own course.)

So, there's my preamble.

The book starts with a poem in which Bunyan /

Wow, that's a big question! So, the first thing to bear in mind is that it was written in 1678 and the language has changed a fair amount. Bear in mind, too, that he was not an educated gentleman with court connections, as many of the writers of the period were, but a tinsmith from the provinces. /

God, I love that song!

I'd completely forgotten he existed. So, a bit of a trip down irrelevant person lane... (I think that's a bit rude about him, akch.)