'Doctrine by ensample': Sanctification through Literature in Milton and Bunyan

• Published in: Bunyan studies Vol. 6; no. 6; p. 44
• Main Author: Zinck, Arlette M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Bunyan Studies 01.01.1995; Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences
• Subjects: British & Irish literature; Bunyan, John (1628-1688); English literature; Milton, John (1608-1674)
• ISSN: 0954-0970

[...]how might Milton and Bunyan reconcile their belief in this textual power with the varied responses that their works received? [...]the edification offered by the poem results from the intellectual conflict inspired by it. Varied critical reactions to Satan have followed the poem since the time of its publication. [...]the tension that has been identified in Milton's Satan is not solely the product of post-Christian thinking, but rather an effect of the poetic design itself - an effect that Milton himself could have anticipated and, further, one he may have deliberately incorporated into the poem in order that it might produce a specific reaction or experience within his readers. Readers are given the opportunity to test their memory and their understanding and to be edified by the experience whether they pass or fail. [...]Paradise Lost and The Pilgrim's Progress show the influence of psychomachy in both their thematic content and their stylistic construction.