Christian and Classical Directions in English Literary Walks of the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Seventeenth Century saw several changes in how writers represented walking. Like so much else in the culture of the period, this evolution was the product of a dialogue between earlier Christian and classical models, as the inherited metaphor of the pilgrimage was replaced, first by classical models of the country-house walk and then of urban walks full of satirical observation; there also emerged largely native forms, including nocturnal ‘rambles’ in search of sexual pleasure and a distinctive revival of the Christian tradition in the meditative and visionary ‘walks’ of Henry Vaughan and Thomas Traherne.