What is the concept of "Willing Suspension of Disbelief"? How can I connect this definition to notions of Anti-realism and Realism? How do these...

The
concept of suspension of disbelief is the temporary acceptance of a particular reality or
situationone that might normally strain credulityfor the sake of appreciating the work and
understanding the ideas its author or creator wishes to explore. In other words, for a short
time, one agrees to pretend a certain circumstance, character, or even an entire world is
real.

Willing suspension of disbelief is an essential component in
nonrealistic works, particularly, speculativeand fantasy. Take the novels in Rowlings Harry
Potter series, for example. In order to immerse oneself in these novels, one first must be
willing to suspend a great deal of conventional logic: accept the notion that magic is real, a
select school for wizards exists in an ancient castle somewhere in Scotland, its grounds are
populated by a host of magical persons and fantastic entities, and an eleven-year-old orphan
will grow up to defeat the greatest dark wizard of all time.

Horror is
another genre in which willing suspension of disbelief plays a crucial role. For instance, how
enjoyable would Salems Lot by Stephen King or Bram Stokers
Dracula be if one rejected even the possibility of the existence of
vampires?

Some forms of poetry demand readers suspend disbelief as well.
Gothic poetry, replete with images of ghostly figures, goblins, mythological figures, and the
like, is a good example.

Since readers and audiences want to be entertained,
suspension of disbelief usually occurs automatically. The ability to maintain it and not break
with established convention depends on the skill of the particular author or playwright,
however.