Bunyan Characters (1st Series) — Story, Setting & Ideas

The Vocabulary of Moral Character

Whyte's language is precise and morally charged. He distinguishes character from talent or genius, calling it 'the strength and the beauty and the sweetness of the soul.' This phrasing recurs throughout, as he contrasts 'good minds' with 'good hearts.' The excerpt shows a deliberate pairing of abstract nouns—'risk and uncertainty,' 'anxiety and danger and fear'—to mirror the spiritual stakes of Bunyan's narrative. Whyte also employs a rhetorical device of accumulation: 'past life, past sins, past errors of judgment, past mistakes and mishaps.' Such lists create a rhythm of urgency, pulling the listener into the moral drama. Notably, he avoids Bunyan's own archaic diction, instead adopting a Victorian pulpit style that is both elevated and intimate.

Voice and Direct Address

Whyte's narrative voice oscillates between lecturer and preacher. In the excerpt on Christian's encounter with the lions, he shifts from third-person exposition ('So I saw in my dream') to first-person plural exhortation: 'All we have got to do at present is to leave the lions to Him.' This 'we' is inclusive, drawing the audience into the allegory. The pace quickens with short, imperative sentences: 'Only let us keep in the midst of the path.' Whyte also uses hypotheticals ('Even if there is no Celestial City') to intensify the stakes, a technique that builds tension before resolving with a reaffirmation of faith. The result is a voice that is both analytical and impassioned, moving between Butler's moral philosophy and Bunyan's dramatic scenes.

Pacing Through Repetition and Contrast

The excerpt reveals a deliberate control of pace through repetition. Whyte repeats key phrases—'venture,' 'lions,' 'midst of the path'—to hammer home his point. The word 'venture' appears five times in a short span, each iteration increasing the sense of risk. Contrast also drives the rhythm: Mistrust and Timorous 'ran down the hill' while Christian 'went on his way.' Whyte amplifies this by juxtaposing fear and resolve: 'Lions are like lambs compared with sin.' The pacing slows in the quoted passage from Bunyan ('So I saw in my dream...'), then accelerates again with Whyte's commentary. This alternation between Bunyan's measured narrative and Whyte's rapid-fire application creates a dynamic reading experience, mirroring the spiritual journey itself.

Readers approaching Whyte's lectures should attend to how he uses Bunyan's characters as mirrors for self-examination. The book rewards those who read slowly, noting the shifts between exposition and exhortation. Whyte's method is not to explain Bunyan's allegory but to inhabit it, drawing out its moral urgency for a Victorian audience—and, by extension, for any reader willing to 'keep in the midst of the path.'

I remember my father’s old copy of Bunyan, the margins filled with faint pencil—notes on Mistrust, mostly, how he hesitates at the gate. It made me think of nights spent with The pocket George Borrow — Reading Notes The pocket George Borrow — Reading Notes, where he lingers on small, weary travellers too. Some books just hold a quiet space for the doubtful walker.