Showing results by author "Michela Bertazzo" in All Categories

John Dryden published Absalom and Achitophel: A Poem in 1681. It is an elaborate historical allegory using the political situation faced by King David (2 Samuel 14-18) to mirror that faced by Charles II. Each monarch had a son whom a high-ranking minister attempted to use against him. James Scott, first Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegitimate son, was detected planning a rebellion late in 1681, supposedly instigated by the Earl of Shaftesbury, who was tried for high treason, and it is believed that Dryden wrote the poem in an effort to sway the jury in his trial. The fates of both Absalom ...

John Dryden was an English poet and playwright who was the first person to hold the title of Poet Laureate.Many of Dryden's lyrics were designed to be set music and this was done by a number of composers including Henry Purcell and George Frederick Handel. - Summary by Alan Mapstone

The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton is a "bipartite adventure story whose first half covers a traversal of Africa, and whose second half taps into the contemporary fascination with piracy. It has been commended for its depiction of the homosexual relationship between the eponymous hero and his religious mentor, the Quaker, William Walters." (Summary by Wikipedia)

Written in the late 1600s by John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, this treatise exhorts Christians to holy living. Bunyan takes as his text Psalm 93:5, 'Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever,' and from it he presents true holiness as true beauty, calling his fellow believers out of the religious hypocrisy of his era to a genuine pursuit of God. Spiritually, this work is a little-known gem from a respected religious figure, and historically it is a unique look at the Christian church and family in the seventeenth century. Whatever your reason for coming to 'A Holy Life,' it ...

Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes. Based on the Gospel of Luke's version of the Temptation of Christ, Paradise Regained is more thoughtful in writing style, and thrives upon the imagery of Jesus' perfection in contrast to the shame of Satan. (Summary from Wikipedia) The Librivox recording of Paradise Lost can be found here.

“The Sun to me is darkAnd silent as the Moon,When she deserts the nightHid in her vacant interlunar cave.”Milton composes his last extended work as a tragedy according to the classical Unities of Time, Place and Action. Nevertheless it “never was intended for the stage” and is here declaimed by a single reader.Samson the blinded captive, in company with the Chorus of friends and countrymen, receives his visitors on their varying missions and through them his violent story is vividly recalled. Then he is summoned to give a final demonstration of God-given strength to entertain the ...

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and “a fountain of life”—the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle so vastly important, all the subtle malignity of Satan has been directed, if possible to mislead the very elect; while the ungodly and impenitent fall under his devices. To the mind enlightened by Divine truth, the difference between a filial fear of offending God and the dread of punishment is very plain. Still, by the devil’s sophistry, some of the most pious Christians have been puzzled and ...

Seventeenth-century Puritan theologian John Bunyan wrote The Life and Death of Mr. Badman as a companion piece to The Pilgrim’s Progress, the literary work for which Bunyan is best remembered. Although both works are Christian allegories that provide the reader with moral and spiritual instruction, The Pilgrim’s Progress accomplishes this goal primarily via the positive example of the protagonist, while The Life and Death of Mr. Badman does the opposite; Pilgrim is ultimately destined for heaven, while Mr. Badman is destined for hell. The two works also differ in their format. Pilgrim’s ...

LibriVox volunteers bring you 9 recordings of A Letter to Her Husband (Absent upon Public Employment) by Anne Bradstreet. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for January 24th, 2010.

The Holy War is perhaps John Bunyan's second most popular work, after The Pilgrim's Progress. It tells the story of a fierce battle to take control of a city from its rightful ruler. (Summary by Joy Chan)

A reader of this history, encountering the frequent references to “my author,” meaning the current source, will be reminded of DON QUIXOTE and of THE MORTE D'ARTHUR, for Milton employs a style that might be called dissertational rather than novelistic; he carefully identifies his sources and often quotes from them. However, much of the scholarly documentation has been omitted from the reading—all except footnotes indicating the years—to avoid cumbersome interruptions.What will be obvious to a listener, though, is that Milton uses earlier chronicles with discretion. He doubts the very ...

From John Bunyan's classic, The Pilgrim's Progress, we find the poem To Be a Pilgrim, an inspiring reminder of who we are in Christ. This was the weekly poem for March 8-15, 2015. - Summary by Esther ben Simonides

Probably the most famous allegory ever written of the Christian life, The Pilgrim's Progress follows the journey of Christian from his first encounter with the Evangelist, through his trials and doubts and as he meets various people who help and hinder him in his journey towards the Celestial City to meet his King. Part 2 follows the journey of Christian's wife and sons as they follow him along the same path past the Slough of Despond, the Castle Despair and Vanity Fair.This version was edited in 1909 by the Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut to update some of the more archaic language and streamline ...

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Adam and Eve (From “Paradise Lost,” Fourth Book) by John Milton. This was the Weekly Poetry project for Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 (though written nearly ten years earlier) in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books (in the manner of the division of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification; most of the poem was ...

El Peregrino - Viaje de Cristiano a la Ciudad Celestial, bajo el símil de un sueño fue escrita en dos partes, mientras su autor estaba en prisión. La primera se publicó en Londres en 1678, y la segunda en 1684, las cuales sumarizan la alegoría del creyente cristiano en cualquier momento de la historia. Esta obra ha sido traducida en varios idiomas, y se dice que los misioneros protestantes normalmente era lo primero que traducían, después de la Biblia, pues su lectura, con reales aplicaciones bíblicas, hace identificar a todo creyente con su vida espiritual. - Resumen escrito por ...

A description of the man that gets to heaven: with directions how to run so as to obtain - Summary by John Bunyan

Grace Abounding is the spiritual autobiography of John Bunyan, who also penned Pilgrim’s Progress, perhaps one of the most significant pieces of Christian literature, second only to the Bible. Grace Abounding follows Bunyan’s struggle to find true repentance and forgiveness, his battle with Satan’s temptations of unbelief, his comfort found in the Bible and his overarching victory gotten by the grace of God through Jesus Christ his Son. Readers familiar with Pilgrim’s Progress will recognize that many of the allegorical points in his famous work came out of Bunyan’s own struggles and...

As Vergil had surpassed Homer by adapting the epic form to celebrate the origin of the author’s nation, Milton developed it yet further to recount the origin of the human race itself and, in particular, the origin of and the remedy for evil; this is what he refers to as “things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.”After a statement of its purpose, the poem plunges, like its epic predecessors, into the midst of the action, shockingly bringing to the front the traditional visit to the underworld, for Satan’s malice is the mainspring of the negative action. But at the center of the poem ...

A well educated population is the cornerstone of a strong society. On the personal level, education contributes to virtue and self-knowledge, the most necessary attributes of the ideal citizen and soldier. It is best achieved through empirical study rather than the exclusive study of books. - Summary by Thomas A. Copeland

A breviate of the life of Margaret, the daughter of Francis Charlton, of apply in Shropshire, esq. and wife of Richard Baxter. For the use of all, but especially of their kindred. There is also published the character of her mother, truly described in her published funeral sermon, reprinted at her daughter’s request, called, the last work of a believer, his passing-prayer, recommending his departing spirit to Christ, to be received by him."Being thus obliged by her request, mine own affections urged me to premise this Breviate of her own life: Written, I confess, under the power of melting ...