Pilgrim’s Progress: Author’s Apology

Over the next few posts, I’ll be reading and reviewing Pilgrim’s Progress.

At the beginning of the book, John Bunyan composes a poem that is essentially an apology to those who he might be offending by writing the Pilgrim’s Progress. There’s nine different sections, and took me about ten minutes to read. Let’s get into it!

---

An Interesting Prologue

I think of this Author’s Apology as a sort of prologue. Prologues are written at the beginning of books, before anything really happens, and they normally give you a special look into what’s ahead.

Even though it was really long, and parts of it were confusing, I managed to understand the core of it (I think).

Here are my main observations.

• At the start, Bunyan seemed unsure whether or not printing his book would do any good, whether or not people would even read it.
• Throughout the poem, he questions people’s opinions. He asks things like, “why don’t they want me to write in this style?” “what’s wrong with allegories?” “should I even bother writing this?”
• He’s dismissed the negative thoughts by the end. He apologizes for offending anyone, and you get the feeling that the only person’s opinion he truly cares about is God’s.

“Truth’s Golden Beams”

One thing I liked about reading this was getting an inside look on Bunyan’s viewpoint.

He knew we live in a dark world, and that maybe by writing Pilgrim’s Progress he could show the world some light.

I love that, even as he apologizes for it, Bunyan uses allegories to convey truth and light.

Poetry–Confusing or Beautiful?

Parts of the poem was confusing, interesting, and just plain weird. What does sallies mean? Why did you describe men ‘as high as trees’?

But it was also beautiful. Bunyan’s ability to describe his feelings and compare them to other things is kind of cool.

Dark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none

God speaketh to him; and happy is he
That finds the light and grace that in them be

So maybe I’m not getting the full understanding and knowledge of Bunyan’s long, complex poem, but I am appreciating it.

Anyways, that’s all for now. Stay tuned to hear more about the Pilgrim’s Progress and John Bunyan!

+