Uncloistered Virtue: English Political Literature, 1640-60

Thomas Corns' s fascinating, wide ranging, richly detailed, and superbly sensitive account of the literature of the English Revolution concludes with a parallel to John Bunyan: Just as Paradise Lost functions as the cornerstone of English neoclassicism and its author as its primary representati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBunyan studies no. 8; p. 89
Main Author Groom, Nick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.1998
Subjects
British & Irish literature
Bunyan, John (1628-1688)
Bunyan, John (1628-88)
English language
English literature
Politics
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Summary:Thomas Corns' s fascinating, wide ranging, richly detailed, and superbly sensitive account of the literature of the English Revolution concludes with a parallel to John Bunyan: Just as Paradise Lost functions as the cornerstone of English neoclassicism and its author as its primary representative in the canon of cerebral but respectable literary art, so Pilgrim 's Progress is eventually appropriated as a rugged, accessible devotional treatise, making the central truths of Christian doctrine available to all classes and cultures . . In 1644 a Sabbatarian measure was passed that forbade 'any wrastlings, shooting, Bowling, Ringing of Bells for Pleasure or Pastime, Wake, otherwise called Feasts, Church-Ale, Dancing, Games, Sports or Pastimes whatsoever' to men, women, and children, and also outlawed the erection of May poles. The absolute commitment to political history leaves no opportunity for theoretical approaches (gender theory, queer theory) that might conceivably drive the argument more forcibly.
ISSN:0954-0970