The Holy War

Description

Known mostly for his The Pilgrim’s Progress, a Christian allegory considered to be one of the most important writings in religious English literature, John Bunyan is also the writer of The Holy War, an allegory in novel form that describes fall, conversion and enlightenment in vivid pictures, with important messages to transmit not only to readers in the 17th century, when the book was written, but also for readers today.

The novel being an allegory, all the names in it are speaking names. The name of the characters reveal a lot about their intentions and attitude – there are evil characters such as Diabolus, the deceiver, Ill-Pause, his servant, Incredulity, another friend of Diabolus; there are good characters as well, such as Emmanuel, and there are characters struggling with their sinful nature such as Conscience or Lord Willbewill, shifting to serve Diabolus and being punished for the betrayal they commit. The places where the war between good and evil is carried on also bear revealing names: the war is fought for Mansoul, a town with five entry gates names Eye-Gate, Ear-Gate, Mouth-Gate, Feel-Gate and Nose-Gate.

Unlike The Pilgrim’s Progress,which revolves around one single character’s life, The Holy War grasps an event and elaborates on it using multiple characters. The protagonist in The Pilgrim’s Progress rises to the Celestial City, achieving redemption and the battle of Mansoul for Mansoul is also successfully fought against the Devil.

While the outcome is obvious in both books from the very beginning, the way the journey to salvation is covered certainly makes them both worth reading. Though a well-written novel that explains many Puritan concepts in a straightforward manner, what makes The Holy War special is not the story line, but the rich symbolism that Bunyan uses masterfully, using beautiful wording and giving even today’s readers a lot to contemplate on.
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