What is the principle of decorum in neoclassical poetry?

Decorum can be defined as behavior that is in keeping with good taste and propriety. It was a very important concept in neo-classical poetry. The general consensus in the 18th century was that poetry should be written according to certain rules and standards. As such, there was a prevailing distrust of anything unusual, particular, or in any way innovative. Poetry should speak to common human experience and not simply be the eccentric outpourings of a...

Decorum can be defined as behavior that is in keeping with good taste and propriety. It was a very important concept in neo-classical poetry. The general consensus in the 18th century was that poetry should be written according to certain rules and standards. As such, there was a prevailing distrust of anything unusual, particular, or in any way innovative. Poetry should speak to common human experience and not simply be the eccentric outpourings of a tortured individual. Emotions certainly had their place in poetry, but only those emotions that are widely shared, understood and recognized; and even then they should be expressed with appropriate decorum and restraint. Otherwise, poets were little better than religious cranks and fanatics who claimed to have a unique inner light, a divine inspiration that revealed to them the absolute truth.

For Pope, as for many in the 18th century, the proper study of mankind is man. And poetry should concern itself with uncovering universal truths that speak to man's reason. Inevitably, this meant that poetry needed to be written according to an objective standard, one that could be understood and appreciated by anyone exercising their reasoning faculties. Hence the need for commonly-accepted rules of taste and propriety against which poems, as with all works of art, should be judged.