When at the first I took my pen in hand
Thus for to write, I did not understand
That I at all should make a little book
In such a mode; nay, I had undertook
To make another; which, when almost done,
Before I was aware, I this begun.

And thus it was: I, writing of the way
And race of saints, in this our gospel day,
Fell suddenly into an allegory
About their journey, and the way to glory,
In more than twenty things which I set down.
This done, I twenty more had in my crown;
And they again began to multiply,
Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly. (Part One, "The Author's Apology for his Book")

Basic set up:

This is the introduction to Bunyan's religious allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress.

In this little "Apology," or intro (modest much, Bunyan? We're reading your dang book… no need to apologize!) to Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan tells us what it's all about. His book is about the "the way/ And race of saints, in this our gospel day." It's all about Christianity, in other words.

And indeed, Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most important religious texts to come out of the Restoration period. Bunyan's preoccupation with Christianity in the book reflects a wider preoccupation with faith and religious themes in the literature of this period.

In his intro to Pilgrim's Progress , Bunyan not only tells us what the book is about, he tells us the form it's written in. The book is "an allegory/ About … [the saints'] journey, and the way to glory."

An allegory is a story that has a hidden meaning. On the surface Pilgrim's Progress is about a physical journey. But in a deeper sense this physical journey is an allegory about a spiritual journey. Layers upon layers, bro.