Bunyan Characters

Alexander WhyteProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 431K words
Chapters: 44

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Bunyan Characters (1st Series) by Alexander WhyteAuthor: Whyte, Alexander, 1836-1921,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 1, 1999

Editor's review

This book is the first series of sermon-like commentaries by Alexander Whyte on the characters in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Rather than retelling the plot, Whyte treats the characters as mirrors, portraying one by one their temperaments, motives, and spiritual condition in a style that combines pastoral earnestness with the finesse of literary criticism. Readers already familiar with the original will find new layers in his analysis of the characters' inner motives; those unfamiliar with it will gain an entry point into Bunyan's allegory. The prose is late nineteenth-century English, with solemn sentence structures and a measured rhythm, suited to slow reading and repeated rumination. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to search and excerpt, making it especially suitable as supplementary material for book-club discussion or as a bedside book to be read alternately for personal devotion and literary appreciation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read The Pilgrim's Progress and wish to understand the characters' allegorical meanings in greater depth
Leaders who need sermon material or discussion material for book clubs
Literature lovers who enjoy the style of Victorian English prose
Readers who hope to find faith reflection through literary appreciation

Not a good fit for

Beginners who only want to know the plot of The Pilgrim's Progress
Those unaccustomed to nineteenth-century English sentence structures and religious vocabulary
Researchers expecting systematic literary-historical investigation or scholarly annotation

Reading tips

First read the relevant passages of The Pilgrim's Progress, then read the corresponding character chapters in this book
Read only one or two character chapters at a time, leaving time to digest and take notes
Keep a pen at hand to mark quotable sentences for later use in sermons or sharing

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read this book directly without having read The Pilgrim's Progress?

You can, but the gain will be reduced. Whyte's commentary takes the characters of Bunyan's original as its subject and assumes some familiarity with their personalities and the plot. It is advisable to read a summary of the original or the passages on the main characters first, then approach this book; understanding will be smoother.

Is this book a novel or a commentary?

It is a collection of commentary sermons, not a novel. Whyte selects characters from The Pilgrim's Progress and comments on them one by one, analyzing their personalities and spiritual meaning; the genre combines literary appreciation with religious sermons.

What is the difference between the first and second series?

The two series comment on different groups of characters, and each stands as an independent book. You may start with either series according to interest, or read them alternately in the order the characters appear in the original; there is no need to insist on a fixed sequence.

Comments

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About the author

Alexander Whyte Author · Scottish (British) · 1836–1921

Alexander Whyte (1836–1921) was a Scottish theologian, minister and writer, born in Kirriemuir on 13 January 1836 and died on 6 January 1921. He studied at the University of Aberdeen and New College, Edinburgh, served for many years as minister of Free St George's Church in Edinburgh, and became Principal of New College in 1909. His writings centre on figures such as John Bunyan, Jacob Boehme, Thomas Browne and St Teresa, focusing on character and spiritual experience. His representative work is the four-volume Bunyan Characters, alongside appreciations of Samuel Rutherford, Jacob Boehme and Browne's Religio Medici. Seven of his works are held in this collection. Public information is limited, and further details of his life and influence remain to be examined.