How The Pilgrim's Progress drew on The Gospels
A documented line of influence: John Bunyan demonstrably engaged Matthew’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
The source
The Gospels
Matthew · c. 85
BibleThe influenced
The Pilgrim's Progress
John Bunyan · 1678
EnlightenmentRelevance
9/10
On The Pilgrim's Progress’s page
- The source text Bunyan dramatizes — The Pilgrim's Progress turns the Sermon on the Mount into a road
- Christian enters salvation through a 'strait' Wicket Gate taken line-for-line from Matthew 7:13-14, cited in Bunyan's own margins
- Knowing the Gospels first lets you catch how much of the allegory is scripture made walkable — the prose Spurgeon called 'Bibline'
On The Gospels’s page
- Bunyan's allegory runs on Gospel text — Christian's whole journey begins at a Wicket Gate lifted straight from the Sermon on the Mount
- The 'strait gate' and 'narrow way' of Matthew 7:13-14 become the literal geography of salvation; Bunyan cites the verse in his own margins
- Spurgeon said Bunyan's prose was 'Bibline' — prick it and it bleeds scripture, and this is where most of it comes from