John Bunyan ( 1628—1688 )

Born in a tinker’s family Became a tinker himself Have little education Joined the Parliamentary army Became a preacher

The comparison between Milton and Bunyan

Milton Puritan poetIn prisonWrote

Paradise Lost after his blindness

BunyanPuritan writer of

proseIn prison longer

than MiltonWrote The Pilgrim’s

Progress in prison and published after his release

The Pilgrim’s Progress

It is written in the old fashioned medieval form of allegory and drama.

Plot: A man ----a Christian pilgrim A book--- the Bible Burden--- weight of worldly and cares

and concerns

《天路历程》

He preaches his religious views in The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Allegory

Three great allegories: Spenser’s The Faerie Queene Dante’s La Divina Commdia (the Divine Comedy) Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress

（ style of a ) story, painting or description in which the characters and events are meant as symbols of purity , truth, patience, etc.

Significance

Gives a real picture of how life was during the 17th century

A faithful panoramic reflection of Bunyan’s age The most significant is his satire --- directed at t

he ruling classes. The use of allegory makes his satirical pictures

less direct and more difficult to see. His books: a religious book ﹥piercing exposur

es of social evils

Vanity FairSymbolic picture of London at the time

John Dryden

(1631—1700)

Born in a well-to-do Puritan family Received education at Cambridge An enthusiastic supporter of the revolution Changeable person:

From Cromwell to Charles II From Anglican to Roman Catholic to Puritan

John Dryden’s achievements

* A prolific writer as a poet, a playwright and a literary critic

* Famous for his literary critics

* Became poet laureate in 1668

* The most outstanding contribution is his literary criticism

* As a poet he was known for his verse satires, which was written in heroic couplets.

Heroic couplets

A verse form widely adopted by the

poets of the 18th century. It is a pair of

rhyming iambic pentameter lines.

John Dryden’s Works

An Essay of Dramatic Poesy《论戏剧诗》

Form --- dialogue

Topic --- merits of English and French drama

merits of the old and the new English drama

Favor --- the neoclassical rules