John Dryden: An Essay of Dramatic Poesy

Crites praises the Greeks and Romans suggesting that they cannot be surpassed. Eugenius recognizes their worth but suggests that they have indeed been exceeded and in many instances are not consistent in their adherence to Aristotle's conventions. Lisideius suggests that the French are superior to the English. Neander (ostensibly Dryden) counters that, based on their agreed definition of what "a play ought to be," the English are superior. Two types of "bad" English poets: (p.164) 1.…

…help the main action. English plays are more entertaining and instructive because they offer an element of surprise that the ancients and the French do not. Decorum: "suspension of disbelief" The audience knows that none of it is real, why should they think scenes of death or battles any less "real" than the rest? He credits the English audience with a certain robustness in suggesting that they want their battles and "other objects of horror."