The Heroic Play is basically different from the older tragedy, and is to be understood with reference to the laws of the epic or heroic poem rather than to those of the tragedy.
Dryden defined it, “as an imitation, in little, of a heroic poem”, He noticed the great affinity between the two genres, the end is the same, the characters are the same, the action and passions are the same, only the manner of conveying them is different. Epic does it rough narration, while the heroic play uses action and dialogue for the purpose.