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Bunyan and the physiognomy of the Wor(l)d

Abstract

In the “Apology” that prefaces The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan defended himself against those who criticized him, on religious grounds, for the use of lively fictions by pointing out that the Bible itself is full of figurative elements. This is more than just a defence, however, for the Bible, to Bunyan, is actually a manual for reading the world figuratively. There is an iconic relationship between the Book of Books and the Book of Nature; an object found in the world becomes a sign when it is used figuratively in the Bible. Bunyan’s own allegorical fiction serves to point up this relationship and is an example of such a combinatory reading. Christian has to read the faces, names and utterances of the people he meets on his road in order to discover their meaning. In this process, indexical signs, such as a person’s blushing, are discovered to be part of an iconic concept; a case in point is Mercy, whose face, regarded in the mirror of Scripture, makes manifest its divine likeness.

Abstract

In the “Apology” that prefaces The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan defended himself against those who criticized him, on religious grounds, for the use of lively fictions by pointing out that the Bible itself is full of figurative elements. This is more than just a defence, however, for the Bible, to Bunyan, is actually a manual for reading the world figuratively. There is an iconic relationship between the Book of Books and the Book of Nature; an object found in the world becomes a sign when it is used figuratively in the Bible. Bunyan’s own allegorical fiction serves to point up this relationship and is an example of such a combinatory reading. Christian has to read the faces, names and utterances of the people he meets on his road in order to discover their meaning. In this process, indexical signs, such as a person’s blushing, are discovered to be part of an iconic concept; a case in point is Mercy, whose face, regarded in the mirror of Scripture, makes manifest its divine likeness.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface and acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Introduction: Signergy 1
  6. Part I. Theoretical approaches
  7. Literary practices and imaginative possibilities 23
  8. The bell jar, the maze and the mural 47
  9. Iconicity as meaning miming meaning and meaning miming form 73
  10. A view from the margins 101
  11. Part II. Visual iconicity
  12. Iconic and indexical elements in Italian Futurist poetry 129
  13. Taking a line for a walk 157
  14. Iconicity and naming in E. E. Cummings’s poetry 179
  15. Bunyan and the physiognomy of the Wor(l)d 193
  16. From icon to index and back 211
  17. The poem as icon of the painting 225
  18. Part III. Iconicity and historical change
  19. Iconicity and etymology 243
  20. Iconicity typological and theological 259
  21. An iconic, analogical approach to grammaticalization 279
  22. Part IV. Iconicity and positionality
  23. Iconic signs, motivated semantic networks, and the nature of conceptualization 301
  24. Iconicity and subjectivisation in the English NP 319
  25. Metrical inversion and enjambment in the context of syntactic and morphological structures 347
  26. Part V. Iconicity and translation
  27. Translation, iconicity, and dialogism 367
  28. Iconicity and developments in translation studies 387
  29. Author index 413
  30. Subject index 417
Signergy
This chapter is in the book Signergy
https://doi.org/10.1075/ill.9.12bau

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface and acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Introduction: Signergy 1
  6. Part I. Theoretical approaches
  7. Literary practices and imaginative possibilities 23
  8. The bell jar, the maze and the mural 47
  9. Iconicity as meaning miming meaning and meaning miming form 73
  10. A view from the margins 101
  11. Part II. Visual iconicity
  12. Iconic and indexical elements in Italian Futurist poetry 129
  13. Taking a line for a walk 157
  14. Iconicity and naming in E. E. Cummings’s poetry 179
  15. Bunyan and the physiognomy of the Wor(l)d 193
  16. From icon to index and back 211
  17. The poem as icon of the painting 225
  18. Part III. Iconicity and historical change
  19. Iconicity and etymology 243
  20. Iconicity typological and theological 259
  21. An iconic, analogical approach to grammaticalization 279
  22. Part IV. Iconicity and positionality
  23. Iconic signs, motivated semantic networks, and the nature of conceptualization 301
  24. Iconicity and subjectivisation in the English NP 319
  25. Metrical inversion and enjambment in the context of syntactic and morphological structures 347
  26. Part V. Iconicity and translation
  27. Translation, iconicity, and dialogism 367
  28. Iconicity and developments in translation studies 387
  29. Author index 413
  30. Subject index 417
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