This is a major reinterpretation of John Bunyan, a prolific author
best known for his two allegories, "The Pilgrim's Progress" and
"The Holy War," and his spiritual autobiography, "Grace Abounding."
In this book, Richard L. Greaves draws on recent literature on
depression to demonstrate that Bunyan suffered from this mood
disorder as a young man and then used this experience to help mold
his literary works. Light and darkness, joy and sadness, despair
and hope became key literary motifs.
In this biography, each of Bunyan's works, including the dozen
published posthumously, is analyzed in its immediate historical
context. "The Pilgrim's Progress," although not published until
1678, takes its rightful place as a contribution to the momentous
debate over conscience between 1667 and 1673. This historical
approach, as distinct from the literary one favored by nearly all
of Bunyan's biographers, reveals the changes in his views over
time, including his interest in the millenarian Fifth Monarchists
in the 1650s, his circumspect endorsement of militant action to
block the anticipated succession of James, duke of York, in the
1680s, his retreat from this position following the disclosure of
the Rye House conspiracy, and his cooperation with James II's
government when it offered toleration to dissenters.
Bunyan's extraordinary ability to rouse the imaginations of his
readers is shown to be rooted in his intense spirituality and
powerful creativity, and given emotive force by his deep sympathy
for the poor and oppressed and his fierce commitment to the
principle that truth must be free. Two periods in prison, one
lasting more than eleven years, failed to crush his spirit.
Unbroken, he emerged from confinement to continue his preaching and
writing, having honed a regime of composition that served him well
as a free man. No less significant was his triumph over
debilitating depressive moods that left him with a keen sensitivity
to the importance of light, warmth, and love. Bunyan's potent
creativity enabled him to turn his experiences into a gripping
spiritual autobiography and two major allegories that attest to his
triumph over crippling despair and a repressive government.
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