Lecture Five The 17th Century

(The Period of Revolution and Restoration)

Historical context Literary characteristics Metaphysical Poetry John Donne John Milton John Bunyan

Historical Context

a. The cooperation between the monarchy and the bourgeoisie was over in the early 17th century. (Elizabethan I died, James I came to power, and Charles I then dissolved the parliament and ruled the country with absolute government in 1629).

b. The English Revolution (led by Oliver Cromwell), Charles I was captured and was executed in 1649. Thus, the monarchy was abolished and came the period of the Republican or commonwealth.

c. The split within the revolutionary camp ( the middle bourgeoisie—the big bourgeoisie ; the bourgeoisie—the common people; )

d. The bourgeoisie dictatorship and the Restoration. After the death of Cromwell, the monarchy was restored. It was called the period of restoration. In 1688, James II was forced to flee to France. His Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William, Duke of Orange, were welcomed to England as the joint rulers of the country. This is known as the Glorious Revolution (bloodless). It marked the end of feudalism and the triumph of the bourgeois revolution. After a century of disputes and battles, the state structure of England was settled, within which capitalism could develop freely.

Literary Characteristics

Puritan influence (to suppress literary art, stern and hard style)

Metaphysical poets (John Donne, George Herbert , Andrew Marvell)

John Donne: “The Flea”, “Song”, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”

John Milton ( a great revolutionary poet) Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, On his Blindness, On His Deceased Wife

John Bunyan The Pilgrim’s Progress

Puritanism

Puritanism was the religious doctrine of the revolutionary bourgeoisie during the English Revolution. It preached thrift, sobriety, hard work and unceasing labor in whatever calling one happened to be, but with no extravagant enjoyment of the fruits of labor.

Metaphysical poetry( 玄学诗 )

Metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets try to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry.

They are characterized by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form. John Donne is the leading figure of the “metaphysical school.”

Rise & Fall of Metaphysical Poetry

Metaphysical poetry was rarely read in the 17th, 18th and early 19th century.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there was a renewed interest in metaphysical poetry.

The modernist poets T.S. Eliot, John Ransom and Allen Tate claimed their influence by John Donne. So John Donne became a cult figure in the early 20th century English-speaking countries.

John Donne (1572-1631)

“the first poet of the world in some things.”

—Ben Jonson

John Donne Born into a prosperous merchant’s family. Roman

Catholic family, but quitted his religious belief later. In 1615, he entered the Anglican Church ( 英国国教 ) and took orders. In 1621, he was appointed the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral and kept the post to his death.

Well-educated in both Cambridge and Oxford universities but took no degree at either university because he would not take the Oath of Supremacy required at graduation.

Expeditions in France and Italy. Donne became the private secretary to Egerton, the Lord

Keeper of the Great Seal. He ruined his own prospect by secretly marrying the Lord Keeper’s niece, Anne More.

A Letter to his father-in-law about their secret marriage

"Sir, I acknowledge my fault to be so great as I dare scarce offer any other prayer to you in mine own behalf than this, to believe that I neither had dishonest end nor means. But for her whom I tender much more than my fortunes or life (else I would, I might neither joy in this life nor enjoy the next) I humbly beg of you that she may not, to her danger, feel the terror of your sudden anger."

Final Reconciliation

Sir George had Donne thrown in Fleet prison for some weeks. Donne was dismissed from his post, and for the next decade had to struggle near poverty to support his growing family. Donne later summed up the experience: "John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone.” It was not until 1609 that a reconciliation was effected between Donne and his father-in-law, and Sir George More was finally induced to pay his daughter’s dowry.

Artistic Features

Conceit ( 奇喻 ): to construct a reasonable relation between two completely incompatible things. (love and flea, love and compasses etc.) Metaphysical poetry uses conceits to express ideas.

e.g. He looks like a pig. (normal) 他胖得象头猪。 He looks like a gas container. (abnormal) 他一副标准的煤气罐身材。

John Donne, the leading poet of the metaphysical school, frequently applies conceits, i.e. extended metaphors involving dramatic contrasts.(P113)

Love and flea

…

It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;

This flea is you and I, and this

Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;

Love and Compasses

If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no

show To move, but doth, if th’ other do. … Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun.

Interpreting “Song”

Song is from his “Songs and Sonnets”. In “Songs and Sonnets”, Donne often holds more negative attitudes towards love and woman. It is the same with “Song”. (Donne was influenced by his mother and his wife’s early death, aged 33, after giving the birth to their twelfth baby)

Lead-in Questions Please examine the poetic form, is it regular or

irregular? What images are involved in this poem? Are they

related to each other? Do you think that you can find a true and fair lady

in your life? What is the speaker’s attitude towards love and

woman? What is the tone?

Detailed Analysis

Form: irregularity among the regularity. ababccddd ababbbccc ababccddd

Imagery: a falling star, a mandrake root ( 曼德拉草根 ), the devil’s foot, mermaids singing

The above images, from different perspectives, all have something to do with extreme impossibilities.

Stars are often symbolic of Angels and heaven, so a falling star is a thing of great destruction, symbolizing the duplicity of women. It is of no possibility to catch a falling star.

“mandrake” in superstition is said to scream when it is pulled from the ground, according to whether the roots are twofold or threefold, representing female form or male form. While a female form can help to be pregnant. However, when it does, it is always male rather than female, meaning it is impossible to be pregnant.

The following juxtaposed image is the devil’s foot. It is said to be cleft, which may be traced to Pan, the God of Shepherds. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat. But still it’s of no possibility to cleave the devil’s foot.

envies’ stinging was supposed to be impossible to avoid, which accompanies one’s whole life. Envy exists like a scorpion, and once a scorpion has you in its vice, as envy does, it is impossible to escape.

Mermaids ( 女妖塞壬 siren), are mythological Greek creatures who with their singing lured sailors to their death. The image of mermaid appears to be women above the waist but is not beneath, and this could suggest that women are deceptive creatures. The utter frustration is that mermaids are not for visual beauty but leading to one’s death. It was said that as soon as the singing of a siren was heard, the listener was bound to fall dead. The only one who can escape this fate was Odysseus. Mermaid is a symbol of deception and destruction as well.

Tone: ironic and satiric

Theme: Inconstancy is woman’s nature; true love is unattainable

Appreciating “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”

Background: In 1611, John Donne wrote “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” to his wife, Anne More, weak and pregnant when he was about to set off France conducting government business. Donne intended to prevent his wife from the sadness of their departure. Valediction is derived from a Latin word, meaning to say farewell. The title says, in essence, "When we part, we must not mourn."

Rhyme Scheme and Meter 

Compared to many of Donne’s poems, the nine stanzas of this Valediction are quite simple. Here, each four-line stanza is quite unadorned, with an ABAB rhyme scheme and an iambic tetrameter. The meter is iambic tetrameter with eight syllables (four feet) per line. Each foot, or pair of syllables, consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

 

So let /us melt/, and makes/ no noise,

No tear/-floods, nor/ sigh tem/pests move,

4.3 Textual Analysis

Stanza 1 and 2 (Find out the simile)

Tenor ( 本体 ) ： their separation

Vehicle( 喻体 ) ： virtuous men pass away mildly (death), a man’s soul from his body

“Parting” to “death” is a common comparison in literary works. Here, “Virtuous” refers to not in moralities, but those people who can meet their death without complaints, saying it is time for their souls to move on to eternity.

profanation -- the act of showing contempt for God or holy things. “debasing or cheapening (of religious)

laity -- common people (of religious) church members who are not ordained clergymen; laymen

Hyperbole: tear-floods, sigh tempests “melt” means the physical bond that unites us. we must not

cry storms of tears, and move tempests of sigh. To declare our love publicly will debase and cheapen our love, which is love of the ordinary people. This shows the speaker’s emotional aristocrats.

Stanza 3, 4 and 5 trepidation – movement sublunary love—below the moon, worldly love

The field of astronomy ( 天文学 ): earthquake and the movements of the sun and other

Moving of the earth: earthquake, harmful and causing fear

Trepidation of the spheres: heavenly bodies, natural and harmless, actually with more greater motions and unknown.

Question: Which one bears resemblance with the speaker’s love?

(like the heavenly bodies; our movements–our temporary separations– should cause no excitement. )

Moving of the earth → the dull sublunary love→ sensual and physical bond

Trepidation of the spheres → the speaker’s love →spiritual attachment

By contrast, our love is so refined, so otherworldly, that it can still survive without the closeness of eyes, lips, and hands.

Stanza 6, 7, 8 and 9 (two similes)

Our souls are one, like a gold beaten to airy thinness. (alchemy)

A gold -- when it is beaten with a hammer, widens and lengthens; when we depart, the spiritual bond that unites us actually expands rather than causes a break and rift.

Our souls are two, like the feet of twin compasses. (geometry)

The wife’s soul the fixed foot The husband’s soul the outer foot

The fixed foot (wife’s soul) makes no show to move, but does if the outer foot (husband’s soul) moves. When the outer foot(husband’s soul) travels far, the fixed foot(wife’s soul) should follow it and grows straight until the outer foot (husband’s soul) comes back. Wife’s attachment to husband

Your position there helps me complete my circle so that I end up where I began. The image of a circle (perfection) Husband’s attachment to wife

4.4 The main thread of this poem develops

farewell as mild as the uncomplaining deaths of virtuous men→ to weep would be "profanation of our joys." → harmful “Moving of the earth” to innocent "trepidation of the spheres," →dull sublunary lovers “love” and their love “Inter-assured of the mind” →the unity of two souls expands rather than breaks→the feet of twin compasses

A Comparison between the Common Love of the Everyday World and the Uncommon Love of the Speaker

the common love of the everyday world the uncommon love of the speaker

like virtuous men pass away

many complaints

as the trepidation of the spheres

no absence of the body

more of spiritual love

正如有德行的人安详别世轻声向灵魂问安 ,悲伤的友人或伤逝叹其气绝魂离 , 亦有说不然

就让我们轻声说话 , 不要喧哗不要泪涌如潮 , 不要凄声哀鸣 ;那是对我们欢乐的亵渎 ,让俗人知道我们的爱 .

地动带来的伤害 , 叫人害怕 ,人们推其为断其意 ;天体震动 , 虽然威力更大 ,却对什么都没有损伤 .

乏味的凡情俗爱（感官为上）最忌别离 , 因为情人分开 ,爱的根基就会破碎支离 .

但我们的爱纯净无比 ,我们自己也不知那是什么东西 ,打心里头相互信任 ,不在乎肉体分离 .

因而 , 我俩灵魂合一 ,我纵须远离 , 不违爱诺 ,而是一种延展 ,宛如黄金锻展趁轻飘韧箔 .

若说是二为二体 , 应如绷直双脚的圆规般 ;你的心灵是一只脚 , 固定不移 ,但另一只脚移动 , 你便随之转动 .

虽然一只脚坐镇中心 ,但当另一只脚在外游离 ,他就侧过身去倾听 ,当那只脚回家 , 它又把腰杆直起 .

这就是你和我的关系 , 我必须 ,像另一只脚 , 斜走侧掂 ,你的坚定能使我的圆圈圆得完美 ,让我的游离结束在我开始的地点

Theme  

Real, complete love unites not only the bodies of a husband and wife but also their souls. Such spiritual love is transcendent, metaphysical, keeping the lovers together intellectually and spiritually even though the circumstances of everyday life may separate their bodies.  

Homework: Compare Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” with Liu Yong’s “Yu Lin Ling” and find out the difference.

寒蝉凄切。对长亭晚，骤雨初歇。都门帐饮无绪，留恋处、兰舟催发。执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎。念去去、千里烟波，暮霭沉沉楚天阔。　 多情自古伤离别，更那堪冷落清秋节！今宵酒醒何处？杨柳岸、晓风残月。此去经年，应是良辰好景虚设。便纵有千种风情，更与何人说？

再别康桥 轻轻的我走了 正如我轻轻的来 我轻轻的招手 作别西天

的云彩 那河畔的金柳 是夕阳中的新娘 波光里的滟影 在我心头荡漾 软泥上的青荇 油油的在水底招摇 在康河的柔波里 我甘心做一条水草 那榆荫下的一潭 不是清泉是天上的虹 揉碎在浮藻间 沈淀彩虹似的梦 寻梦撑一支长篙 向青草更青处漫溯 满载一船星辉 在星辉斑烂里放歌 但我不能放歌 悄悄是别离的笙萧 夏虫也为我沉默 沉默是今晚的康桥 悄悄的我走了 正如我悄悄的来 我挥一挥衣袖 不带走一片云彩

What are the features of Cavalier’s poetry?

Appreciate Ben Jonson’s Song to Celia.

Work to be prepared

How much do you know about Satan( 撒旦 )? Do you think that Satan is a devil or a rebellious hero?

Read John Milton’s On His Blindness, what’s the speaker’s attitude towards his blindness? Illustrate your points with examples.

John Milton (1608-1774)

Milton is regarded as the third greatest English poet after Chaucer and Shakespeare, and the greatest to come out of the 17th century.

Milton’s Life

Milton was born in London. He studied at Christ’s College,

Cambridge and received his Master’s degree in 1632.

From 1632 to 1638, he retired to his father’s country house at Horton, and devoted himself to private study.

From 1638-1639, he traveled on the Continent.

Milton’s Works

“Lycidas” (elegy) (1637) “Areopagitica” (1641/4) “On His Deceased Wife” (1658)

Epics: “Paradise Lost”(1667) “Paradise Regained”(1671)

Drama: “Samson Agonistes”(1671)

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is Milton’s masterpiece, and the greatest English epic, whose original story is taken from Genesis 3:1-24 of the Bible. The theme is the “Fall of Man”. It is a long epic in 12 books written in blank verse.

《失乐园》内容提要 　　《失乐园》是一部气势恢弘的史诗式作品。全诗由 12部诗篇组成，讲述了基督教《圣经》中撒旦化身为蛇，引诱亚当夏娃（人类的始祖）违背上帝意旨，最后失去上帝的恩宠，被逐出天堂乐园的故事。第 1 部：全诗总纲，讲述了整个事件的起因和结果；第 2 部：撒旦与众叛逆天使讨论如何同上帝作战，夺取天堂；第 3 部：讲述上帝决定如何赐予人类恩惠；

第 4 部：描述撒旦在天堂见到亚当夏娃，撒旦在夏娃的梦中施展引诱；第 5 部：天使警告亚当要当心恶魔的引诱；

第 6 部：描绘天使与撒旦一伙的战斗；第 7 部：亚当向天使询问有关创世的许多问题，并一一得到回答；第 8 部：他接着又询问天体运行的问题，但对所得到的回答并不满意；第 9 部：撒旦化身为蛇，躺在伊甸园里，并指引亚当和夏娃摘食禁果；第 10部：上帝因此震怒，亚当也后悔不已；第 11部：圣子代表上帝宣布将亚当夏娃逐出天堂，并向他们指点未来；第 12部：天使向他们叙述拯救之路，亚当夏娃终于离开天堂，失去了乐园。

Main Characters The main characters are God, Lucifer (Satan),

Adam and Eve. Devils (inhabiting hell) and angels (inhabiting heaven and earth).

In the poem, God is no better than a selfish despot（暴君） , seated upon a throne with a chorus of angels about him eternally singing his praises. His long speeches are never pleasing. He is cruel and unjust in his struggle against Satan.

While the rebel Satan who rose against God and, though defeated, still sought for revenge, is by far the most striking character in the poem.

Adam and Eve embody Milton’s belief in the powers of man. Their longing for knowledge opens before mankind a wide road to an intelligent and active life.

Characterization and Theme

Old Bible Paradise Lost

God authority Despot, selfish, cruel and unjust

Satan devil Grand hero/to lead an active and fresh life

Adam and Eve obedient rebellious

Adam and Eve

Adam -  The first human, the father of our race, and, along with his wife Eve, the caretaker of the Garden of Eden. Adam is grateful and obedient to God, but falls from grace when Eve convinces him to join her in the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

Eve -  The first woman and the mother of mankind. Eve was made from a rib taken from Adam’s side. Because she was made from Adam and for Adam, she is subservient to him. She is also weaker than Adam, so Satan focuses his powers of temptation on her. He succeeds in getting her to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree despite God’s command.

The Image of Satan

Satan is the real hero of the poem. Like a conquered and banished giant, he remains obeyed and admired by those who follow him down to hell. He is firmer than the rest of the angels.

Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hit upon his head left his heart invincible. Though feebler in force, he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happy servility, and welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty, and a joy. He is the

sprit questioning the authority of God.

How much do you know about Satan? Do you think that Satan is a devil or a

rebellious hero?

Milton says that the aim of his Paradise Lost is to “justify the ways of God to man”. But as a matter of fact, he is exposing God’s tyranny and singing praise of Satan’s revolt against the unjust God.

The extract is the most widely read part. It contains Satan’s most powerful speech about his unconquerable will & his resolution to carry on the struggle.

Introduction

选篇出自《失乐园》第一部，被打败的叛逆天使向撒旦求助，撒旦表示自己与上帝势不两立、要从上帝手中夺取天堂的决意。在这一部分里，诗人以宏伟生动的语言，重新刻画了基督教《圣经》中的撒旦形象，他心气高傲，不怕权威，不惧失败，永不服输，一直都具有昂扬的斗争意志，同时还具有很大的颠覆性，这使他的叛逆精神具有了明显的史诗性和英雄主义特点，也具有古典英雄史诗中超人般主人公的品质。《失乐园》中的撒旦形象，一直被认为是世界文学中刻画最成功的人物形象之一。另外，选段中描绘地狱时所用的语言和意象，将这一惨烈之地栩栩如生地展现在读者眼前，同时也在相当程度上增加了诗篇叙述的恢弘气质。

Theme

The theme of God’s absolute authority The theme of rebellion against God’s

authority The theme of original sin (the fall of

Adam and Eve) Paradise Lost was actually written after

Milton became totally blind. He spent seven years upon this epic poem. The rebellious Satan is the embodiment of the revolutionary Milton. In spite of his blindness, he endeavors to do his utmost.

Brief Summary

Milton is a prominent figure in politics in the 17th century England. He makes great contribution to the English Revolution. He was a militant pamphleteer of the English Revolution, and the greatest English revolutionary poet of the 17th century. It is no wonder that everyone progressive English poet since Milton owed much to his influence.

Milton is a great poet and important prose writer. His Paradise Lost is the only generally acknowledged English epic since Beowulf. His Areopagitica serves as one of the most powerful declarations on freedom of press.

Milton is a master of the blank verse. He was the most successful in the use of blank verse, and he is the forerunner to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry. Here, his own genius for poetry and matchless daring in experiment introduced variety (variation of pause, connection of lines, etc) and achieved extraordinary freedom from monotony. In Paradise Lost, he acquires an absolute mastery of the blank verse.

Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style which is the result of his life—long classical and biblical study. But his style is never exactly natural. It is art attained by definite and conscientious rhetorical devices. For example, he likes to use Latinisms and proper names of resonance and colour to create an elevated and dignified effect.

Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression. But, in order to appreciate Milton, it is necessary to know the English language thoroughly and with a close intimacy. As his works include some of the greatest poems of the world, it is worth the great effort to read them in the original.

Homework

Read John Milton’s On His Blindness, what’s the speaker’s attitude towards his blindness? Illustrate your points with examples.

Work to be prepared

Preview John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress

John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Biographical Introduction

John Bunyan, the son of a poor tinker, was born in the little village of Elstow, near Bedford in 1628. He received the simplest education before taking up his father’s trade.

When he was about 17, Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary army, and served during the decisive battle of Naseby in 1645.

He had a sensitive imagination. Bunyan lived at a time when political

struggles adopted the form of religious struggles .

Bunyan joined a Baptist society in Bedford and began to preach among the villagers. He preached the truth as he saw and directed his attacks against the social evils, the oppressors, the court and the bourgeoisie.

After the Restoration, he was imprisoned in 1660, because he refused to obey the law prohibiting religion meetings.

In 1675 he was imprisoned again. It was during his second imprisonment that he wrote his masterpiece The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Major Works

The Pilgrim’s Progress (Part , 1678)Ⅰ The Pilgrim’s Progress (Part ,1684) Ⅱ Grace Abounding to the Chief of

Sinners (1666) The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

(1680) The Holy War (1682)

The Pilgrim’s Progress (another Bible)

The Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory, a narrative in which general concepts such as sin, despair, and faith are represented as people or as aspects of the natural world. The underlying metaphor of this book is: Life is a journey.

The hero’s name is Christian. He represents every Christian.

Allegory( 寓言 , 讽喻 ): The term derives from the Greek “allegorein”, meaning “to speak in other words”, it is a work of art intending to be meaningful on at least two levels of understanding: a literal level and an abstract (figurative, or moral) level.

It is a fictional literary narrative or artistic expression that conveys a symbolic meaning parallel to but distinct from, and more important than the literal meaning. Allegory has also been defined as an extended metaphor. The symbolic meaning is usually expressed through personifications and other symbols.

Allegory

The whole book falls into two parts. The beginning tells us that the author has a dream. In his dream, he notices a man called Christian carrying a bag of sins on his back and reading the Bible. From the book Christian gets to know that his home city will be destroyed someday by a big fire. Then on the advice of the Evangelist （福音传道者） , he flees away from his home City—the city of Destruction. Part One mainly describes his pilgrimage through the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, Doubting Castle, the Valley of Humiliation, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

On the way he overcomes many obstacles and encounters various allegorical personages, such as, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Hopeful, Giant Despair, the foul fiend Apollyon and some others. Finally he accomplishes his journey by reaching the Celestial City.

The best known section in the book is the Vanity Fair episode. Christian, the hero, and his companion, Faithful, are passing through a town called Vanity during the season of the local fair. In the Vanity Fair, honors, titles, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures and lives can be sold or bought, and cheating, roguery, murder and adultery are normal phenomena.

Questions Why is it called “Vanity Fair”? What can you buy in the Vanity Fair? What is the

symbolic meaning of vanity fair? Did Jesus buy anything in this fair?

Why the two pilgrims arouse people’s attention when they passed through the fair?What happened to them and how did they respond to people’s unjust treatment?

How do you understand “We buy the truth” on page 176?

陪审委员团委员盲目先生、无用先生、恶意先生、纵欲先生、放荡先生、任性先生、傲慢先生、敌意先生、说谎先生、残暴先生、恨光明先生和执拗先生都走了出去。他们个个都评判他有罪，后来全体一致决定在法官面前评定他有罪。起初他们在商量的时候，陪审长盲目先生说，我看得清清楚楚这个人是个邪教徒。接着无用先生说，世界上不需要这种人！恶意先生说，对，我看见他就讨厌。接着纵欲先生说，我决不能容忍他。放荡先生说，我也不能，因为他将来一定会老责备我的作风的。任性先生说，把他绞死，把他绞死！傲慢先生说，一个可怜的平凡无用的东西。敌意先生说，我从心底里讨厌他。说谎先生说，他是个无赖。残暴先生说，绞刑还便宜了他。恨光明先生说，我们赶快把他处决了吧。接着执拗先生说，即使拿全世界给我，我也不能跟他妥协，我们立刻判他死罪吧。他们就这样做了；因此他不久被判了罪，庭上吩咐把他从法庭带回到他原来的地方去，在那儿受可能想象得到的最残酷的死亡。

　

　因此他们带他出来，按照他们的法律处治他；首先他们鞭打他，然后他们拳击他，接着他们用刀刺他；以后又用石头掷他，再用剑刺他；最后他们在火刑柱上把他烧成灰烬。忠信就这样死去。

Comments

Bunyan is known for his simple and lively prose style. His prose is admirable. It is popular speech ennobled by the solemn dignity and simplicity of the language of the English Bible. His prose, modeled on King James Bible, is clear enough to be followed by common readers.

His biblical language enabled him to narrate his stories and reveal his ideas in a direct and straightforward way.