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Bunyan and Romance
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This chapter argues that The Pilgrim’s Progress in both Part I and Part II (1678; 1684) makes creative use of the story-generative procedures of romance, in John Bunyan’s time the most socially inclusive of narrative genres, and that this signals a sympathetic attunement to the genre. Analysis of the texts’ reworking of romance focuses on transformations of narrative materials through the altering of the category under which they are to be understood, and through the setting up of cognitive dislocation in their handling. The chapter’s final section considers Bunyan’s incorporation of pervasive scriptural reference into a narrative of romance adventure.
Title: Bunyan and Romance
Description:
This chapter argues that The Pilgrim’s Progress in both Part I and Part II (1678; 1684) makes creative use of the story-generative procedures of romance, in John Bunyan’s time the most socially inclusive of narrative genres, and that this signals a sympathetic attunement to the genre.
Analysis of the texts’ reworking of romance focuses on transformations of narrative materials through the altering of the category under which they are to be understood, and through the setting up of cognitive dislocation in their handling.
The chapter’s final section considers Bunyan’s incorporation of pervasive scriptural reference into a narrative of romance adventure.
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