| Melodrama: A play
in which the typical plot
is a conflict
between characters
who personify extreme good and evil. Melodramas usually end happily and
emphasize sensationalism. Other literary forms that use the same
techniques are often labeled "melodramatic." The term was
formerly used to describe a combination of drama
and music; as such, it was synonymous with "opera." Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight and Dion Boucicault's The Octoroon, The Colleen Bawn, and The Poor of New York are examples of melodramas. The most popular media for twentieth-century melodramas are motion pictures and television. (Compare with drama.) (Glossary of Literary Terms (Thomsen-Gale)) |