PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

religious allegory by the English writer John Bunyan, a symbolic vision of the good man's pilgrimage through life, at one time second only to the Bible in popularity. Part I (1678), in which Christian travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, is presented as a dream. His anguished struggle toward salvation, though it dominates Part I, does not totally eclipse other, contrasting, qualities. Written in homely, yet dignified biblical prose, the work has some of the qualities of a folktale; and in its humour and realistic portrayals of Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Hopeful, Pliant, and Obstinate, it anticipates the 18th-century novel. In Part II (1684), which deals with the effort of Christian's wife and sons to join him, the psychological intensity is relaxed and the capacity for humour and realistic observation becomes more evident. Christian's family has a somewhat easier time because Christian has smoothed the way, and even such companions as Mrs. Much-afraid and Mr. Ready-to-halt manage to complete the journey.