In the early 1700s, a Protestant minister by the name of John Bunyan wrote a novel titled The Pilgrim’s Progress, which became one of the most influential Christian novels of all time. It was also very influential in English, where it was first published in 1778.
Since its creation, the novel has been read and loved by many over the years. So, when a young reader requests to read it for his or her Christian education, it can be difficult to refuse.
Besides its influence on readers today, The Pilgrim’s Progress also influenced writers. Some people have noted that some of John Bunyan’s writing style and content seem to be similar to other authors’ work. For example, there are several short stories and essays that seem to borrow plot ideas and structure from other sources.
This article will discuss some of those authors and how they influenced John Bunyan in his writing style and content.
Classical literature
While the inspiration for the plot of The Pilgrim’s Progress can be found in many sources, one source may be particularly influential in the creation of a visual novel inspired by The Pilgrim’s Progress.
The book of Ecclesiastes known as the Song of Songs is a central source for most religious texts. In this text, we find several examples of perfect relationships between people, and their pursuit of happiness.
The Song of Songs is a love poem that celebrates physical pleasure as well as spiritual bliss. It is often read as an erotic work, which may contribute to its descriptive style and repeated use of the word “cove”.
According to interior designer website hgtv, “cove” is used nearly seven times in this text to describe a perfect relationshipPhysical pain vs. spiritual pain).” This usage contributes to The Pilgrim’s Progress’ style, which is erotic and descriptive.
We can assume that readers will be looking for physical pleasure while reading The Pilgrim’s Progress, and using this source material as inspiration will add another level of enjoyment to the story.
Other contemporary works
As mentioned earlier, John Bunyan was heavily influenced by other works. In fact, several of his contemporaries were also influential.
These contemporary writers include George Carleton, Thomas Parnell, and Thomas Cobey Cobey. Each of them wrote fiction set in similar times and places to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
Bunyan himself was not the only writer that used similar models to model his style on. Other authors like George Carleton and Thomas Parnell used similar plots to create different literary genres.
Bunyan is a perfect example of how one can borrow ideas from other sources and create your own masterpiece! It just takes care to carefully choose which sources you want to borrow from and apply your own style onto them.
Personal experience
When I read The Pilgrim’s Progress as a teenager, I was totally influenced by my Christian father, who used to share the book with me. He was very proud of John Bunyan’s popularity and his ability to instill faith in his readers.
Unfortunately, he did not live to see another generations’ adoption of the same text as a fun read and spiritual journey. So, I am giving it this second chance in today’s world of technology-enabled literacy.
I think part of what made the text feel so real to me was that I could so closely connect with Christopher at various points in his journey. At times, he faced tough decisions that forced him to come up with creative solutions on the spot; at other times, he mulled over solutions for hours before deciding on one.
I think this was what inspired me to try my own adaptation of the text and see if I could replicate some of those moments in my own life.
Popular culture
While probably no one reading this will be inspired to write by reading The Pilgrim’s Progress, many popular stories are based on similar concepts to The Pilgrim’s Progress. These include the original Greek and Roman myths, Jim Bouton’s 1986 novel The Bouton Zone, and the film A Gooney Way to Live.
These ideas are often borrowed conceptually, but not alwaysliterally. The Bible does not reference film or television much, for example.
In the case of A Gooney Way to Live, for example, the central idea is that we can achieve anything if we believe in ourselves and in God, our source of strength.
All of the above
There are many ways to write a piece of writing. Some people use different writing styles, some use only one, and some blend both. The way you combine these elements into your style depends on the piece!
In John Bunyan’s case, he used all of the above to his benefit in creating his signature style. His inspiration came from both secular and religious literature, as well as art styles.
Several of his sources were novels set in Christian-based worlds with hard-and-fast rules for characters and situations. Other examples include Buddhist Canonical Texts, Hindu Vedas, and Classical Poetry.
All of these sources influenced Bunyan’s choice of story telling devices and what genre the piece was classified as. It is clear that this writer spent a lot of time reviewing these sources and finding new pieces to model his style off of.
None of the above
Piracy is a crime and should be dealt with accordingly. However, in this case, the writer was clearly influenced by another source, which is acceptable.
In the book The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan uses several sources to help him craft his narrative. These include his own experiences as a reader, the Bible itself, popular fiction of the time, and poetry.
The Bible specifically plays a prominent role in The Pilgrim’s Progress as it guides protagonist Christian throughout his journey. This includes using Providence as an author that writes Christian’s thoughts and actions.
Bunyan does not use the Bible as source material for The Pilgrim’s Progress because it would be considered copyright infringement. Instead, he uses popular fiction of the time to influence his writing style.
This includes using fanciful language to convey what he is saying and using imagery to convey it.
Irrelevance
One characteristic of bullsh*t writers is that they give up on ideas that aren’t related to their story, or people, very quickly.
Bullsh*t writers do not engage with ideas that are not focused on their story and people that do not fit the narrative. This is a main source of bullsh*t in literature and other media.
It is important to remember that ideas may be irrelevant to a story, but words can still be meaningful. Even if a writer does not realize it, this can be a powerful way to express oneself.
People that have little creativity or self-expression can be at risk for writing bullsh*t. Make sure you know yourself and your needs before you write anything down.
Consistency
One of the most obvious parallels between John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and the style of writing found in modern day classic novels is the consistency of sentences, paragraphs, and lines.
Classic novels tend to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Throughout these narratives, characters undergo changes in attitude, personality, and/or circumstances. This consistency in text allows readers to connect emotionally with the story and stays fresh in reader’s memory.
In modern day classics such as The Pilgrim’s Progress, there is a tendency for some writers to add extra material or paragraphs at the end just to bring it to a close. However, this extra material tends to be different from paragraph to paragraph and line to line! This can be difficult for people reading it who do not spend time looking for details or lines that seem inconsistent with other material.
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