Blog | Professor Pilgrim's Progress

Sep 29, 20233 min read

Why Christian can't see the (wicket) gate?

I'm just listening to Peter Woodcock's audio narration of Journey to the City of the King, a PP adaptation by Peter and Anne Woodcock for...

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 4

andydraycott7

Jun 27, 20231 min read

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 4

The misplaced illustration depicts 'Tender Conscience,' who is the hero of PP Part III. Interestingly, although soon and then always...

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 3

andydraycott7

Jun 26, 20231 min read

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 3

The image of the muck-raker gives us the term for the lower instincts of popular journalism. I believe that the image is simply put into...

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 2

andydraycott7

Jun 8, 20231 min read

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 2

The answer to the post #1 is that, unlike the promise of the illustration, Evangelist, having pointed Christian to the Wicket Gate twice,...

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 1

andydraycott7

Jun 2, 20231 min read

Mosaic, Pastiche or Bricolage? "Wrong" Illustrations 1

I've been spending a deal of time in the Huntington Library Rare Book Reading Room this last month. Looking for reader annotations...

Logging the data on PP's "use" of the Bible

andydraycott7

Apr 3, 20231 min read

Logging the data on PP's "use" of the Bible

Simple stats: there are roughly 600 "uses" of the Bible, which include: citations (naming a passage by reference in the main text),...

Promiscuous Engravers: When 'expressly' isn't so special...

andydraycott7

Mar 29, 20231 min read

Promiscuous Engravers: When 'expressly' isn't so special...

A curious observation about the mid 19th century spiral map of PP that appears on the covers of several editions: Penguin Classics,...

andydraycott7

Mar 23, 20234 min read

Wonky References

I've submitted a couple of journal articles this week. And one of the things that journal editors are particularly at pains to point out...

Illustrators vs Editors, OR Publishers, Editors, and Illustrators

andydraycott7

Mar 17, 20232 min read

Illustrators vs Editors, OR Publishers, Editors, and Illustrators

What does it mean for a publisher to invite an editor to annotate the text of PP at the same time as commissioning art work to accompany...

andydraycott7

Mar 14, 20232 min read

Holy Jerome!

At the Interpreter's House, Christian is introduced to a number of different scenarios, often referred to as 'emblems.' Emblems were...

The Biblionic Man and his Jerusalem Blade

andydraycott7

Mar 10, 20232 min read

The Biblionic Man and his Jerusalem Blade

When in Part II, Mr. Valiant-for-Truth is telling his story, he recounts a run in with three opponents: Wild-head, Inconsiderate, and...

Praise for EEBO, a turned around 5, and Scotland wins-England loses (PP and not 6 Nations rugby)

andydraycott7

Feb 23, 20234 min read

Praise for EEBO, a turned around 5, and Scotland wins-England loses (PP and not 6 Nations rugby)

I'm just finishing editing an article about the shining ones who gives Christian gifts at the cross in PP Part I. Part of my research...

Modern English Versions - Cautious Verdict, Part 2 of 2

andydraycott7

Feb 21, 20236 min read

Modern English Versions - Cautious Verdict, Part 2 of 2

Edmonson's modernized version is called The Most Difficult Journey You'll Ever Make. The Introdiuction and notes in the text are actually...

Modern English Versions - Cautious Verdict, Part 1 of 2 - Goal Setting

andydraycott7

Feb 15, 20234 min read

Modern English Versions - Cautious Verdict, Part 1 of 2 - Goal Setting

So, what does the preceding potted survey allow in terms of a verdict on select Modern English Versions of The Pilgrim's Progress? In...

andydraycott7

Feb 9, 20235 min read

Modern English Versions - Formatting

This one's a bit longer - but there are also more pictures, although mostly of text and not images... A lot can be said, and has been...

andydraycott7

Feb 8, 20231 min read

Modern English Versions - The Flatterer

Bunyan's character of the Flatterer presents a particular challenge for modernizers because of his racialization. Bunyan introduces him...

Modern English Versions - Scroll/roll in bosom/ Doubting Castle

andydraycott7

Feb 7, 20233 min read

Modern English Versions - Scroll/roll in bosom/ Doubting Castle

As a follow up to my post about Al Bohl's key solution, I want to compare our candidate modern versions of PP on how they locate...

Modern English Versions - Pickthank, Hill Lucre, and Diffidence

andydraycott7

Feb 1, 20233 min read

Modern English Versions - Pickthank, Hill Lucre, and Diffidence

Students love the way Bunyan's names the characters Christian meets along the way. They like those who encourage, like Help, Good-Will,...

Had the key all along!? Al Bohl's striking solution.

andydraycott7

Jan 31, 20232 min read

Had the key all along!? Al Bohl's striking solution.

One of the fun moments of PP is when Christian, having languished in Giant Despair's dungeon for three whole days, and only after a night...

andydraycott7

Jan 30, 20234 min read

Modern English Versions - Opening

"As I walked through the wilderness of this world" is a brilliantly alliterative opening - the repeated "w" words, the monosyllables...