On the Functions of the Simple Present Tense in The Pilgrim’s Progress

The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 27(4), 91-103. Contrary to Pascal’s (1965) claim, the simple present tense (SP) in the narrative told in the preterit in The Pilgrim’s Progress signifies more than experiences of daily affairs, and we may categorize the SP in Pilgrim’s Progress into three types: first, SP describing eternal truths, timeless statement, or generics, focusing on eternal truths, such as eternal dwelling in Heaven with the eternal God, the eternal invitation to all human beings from the eternal God, and being alert and on guard as a true pilgrim shown in “true pilgrimage,” awakened from spiritual slumber. Second, the SP is also used as the historical present (HP), to convey a vivid description of a certain past event, giving the reader a feeling of being there as an observer, such as conveying the threat of Giant Despair through the use of SP forms like getteth (gets), goes, falls, and beats, and thereby warning against falling into true despair. Finally, SP also describes an ordinary life in the sense that John Bunyan’s main purpose is to describe what an ordinary person (an everyman figure) is likely to experience daily in the trials and adventures encountered traveling from his/her home, the worldly city, to the heavenly kingdom. The excellence of Bunyan’s writing lies in his success evoking in his readers the daily reality of the story he presented as his dreams by employing SP with three types of function.