Melodrama

Translated from Greek to literally mean "song-drama" it was originally a spoken text with musical background, as in Greek drama. The form was popular in the 18th cent., when its composers included Georg Benda, J. J. Rousseau, and W. A. Mozart, among others. Modern examples of the true music melodrama are found in Richard Strauss's setting of Tennyson's Enoch Arden, and in Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. J. J. Rousseau's melodrama Pygmalion. These helped create a vogue for stage plays in which the action was generally romantic, full of violent action, and often characterized by the final triumph of virtue. ("melodrama")

Melodrama may also be defined as anytype of drama, such as plays, television shows, or movies in which the characters are stereotypical and they use blown-up emotions to convey a basic satirical plot.

Examples

Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire-This is one of the most famous examples of melodrama.
NBC's Soap Opera Passions- Great example of stereotypical characters, and blown-up emotions.
Henry Wood's East Lynne -Melodramatic Film

External Links

Passions Trailer In this trailer, the actors use their exagerated emotion acting skills.
Pierrot Lunaire Poster Poster of the famous Melodrama Pierrot Lunaire

Works Cited

"Melodrama," The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2004 ed.