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1. Course 3: Literary Theory & Criticism: Western – 1
Unit:2
Name: Trivedi Hezal K.
PG Reg. No. PG15101040
Roll No:39
M.A. – English Regular, Semester-1, Year: 2015
Submitted to: S.B. Gardi Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar
University
(Gujarat – India)

2.  In his essay on dramatic poesy, Dryden
imagines he and his three friends sail out
of London in a boat on the river Thames.
To avoid the boredom of the journey,
the four friends decide to hold some
useful discussion on the theory and
practice of drama in ancient and
modern ages in Greece, Rome, France
and England.

3. 1)Ancients vs. Moderns
2) Unities
3) French vs. English Drama
4) Separation of Tragedy and Comedy vs.
Tragicomedy
5) Appropriateness of Rhyme in Drama

5.  Ancients Depend on fact
 Ancients closely observed
nature and faithfully
represented her in their
work
 Every age has its own
genius, its own inclination
for some particular branch
of knowledge
 The rules of composition
are given by the Ancients
 The Ancients follows the
rule of three unities of the
time place and action
“The ancients should
be accepted as the
masters today and in
the future as well.”

6.  The moderns are imitator of ancient.
 The Ancients are the acknowledge models of
the moderns
 Modern drama are not suitably rewarded and
honoured, they do not take pains and put in
their best efforts.
 Modern have devised no new rules nor, in any
way, added to, or modified, any of their rules.
 In modern plays the unity of time is violated
 The modern drama are unnatural’; they can
not be called a ‘just' and ‘true’ representation
of nature.

7.  The moderns have not blindly imitated
ancients
 The moderns exceed the ancients because
of having learned and profited from their
example.
 Moderns know well when the division of
into play
 As far the Plot or fable of the moderns are
concerned with much originality.
 Modern scholars transform many basic
principles of drama.
 Division of the play into acts
 Dialogues by action instead of narration
 Moderns have invented and perfected “a
more pleasant way of writing for stage”

8.  Dryden holds that ancient principles
should be respected but they should not
be followed slavishly. Discussion of
Ancients and Moderns should not be for
who is “better", is should be more
fundamentally about how “history "itself
functioned and should be read, and
about the Past and present.