|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Melodrama
Melodrama, type of play popular all over Europe in the 19th century. The term derives from the use of incidental music in spoken dramas, which became customary in German theatres during the 18th century, and from the French mélodrame, a dumb show accompanied by music; its application to Gothic tales of horror and mystery, vice, and virtue triumphant stems from the early works of Goethe (Götz von Berlichingen, 1773) and Schiller (Die Räuber, 1782), and its most important authors on the Continent were Kotzebue and Pixérécourt. It was first introduced into England through translations of their plays, particularly those made by Thomas Holcroft, whose A Tale of Mystery (1802), based on Pixérécourt's Coelina; ou, L'Enfant de mystère (1800), was the first work in England to be labelled a melodrama. Gradually the music became less important, and the setting of the plays less Gothic. The Brigand (1829) by Planché was one of the last of the old-fashioned musical melodramas; the setting of Jerrold's Fifteen Years of a Drunkard's Life (1828) heralded an era of domestic melodrama, which ran concurrently with a vogue for plays based on real-life or legendary crimes—the anonymous Maria Marten; or, The Murder in the Red Barn, which became a classic of melodrama in the 1830s; Fitzball's Jonathan Bradford; or, The Murder at the Roadside Inn (1823); and Dibdin Pitt's Sweeney Todd; or, The Fiend of Fleet Street (1847).
The growth of a middle-class audience produced a new type of melodrama, notably at the Adelphi Theatre under Buckstone. While the rougher elements on the Surrey side enjoyed the horrors of real life borrowed from Les Bohémiens de Paris (1843), with its glimpses of the Paris or London underworld in slums and sewers, prosperous merchant families enjoyed the equally spectacular but less violent domestic tragedies of the elder Dumas, among them Pauline (1840), seen by Queen Victoria at the Princess's Theatre in 1851, and The Corsican Brothers (1852), the latter adapted by Boucicault. Among his other adaptations was one of Les Pauvres de Paris, which was first seen in Liverpool in 1864 as The Poor (or The Streets) of Liverpool. A new phenomenon at this time was the sudden success of the numerous dramatizations of popular novels by women writers— Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Mrs Henry Wood's East Lynne (1861), and Miss Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1862). Few of the prolific dramatists of the time bothered to concoct their own plots, though the exercise of the copyright laws in the 1860s began to inhibit their wholesale piracy. None the less, all the melodramas staged by Irving at the Lyceum, from Leopold Lewis's The Bells in 1871 to Boucicault's The Corsican Brothers in 1880, originated on the Continent. Other actor-managers had their greatest successes with dramatizations of novels—Tree with Du Maurier's Trilby (1895), Alexander with Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda (1896), Martin-Harvey with Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, retitled The Only Way (1899), and Fred Terry with Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel (1903). Some exceptions over the years were The Silver King (1882) by Henry Arthur Jones and Herman; The Sign of the Cross (1895) by Wilson Barrett; and the nautical melodramas popularized by William Terriss at the Adelphi. The turn of the century saw spectacular melodramas staged at Drury Lane, with shipwrecks, railway accidents, earthquakes, and horse-racing, and the joint productions of the Melville brothers with The Worst Woman in London (1899) and The Bad Girl of the Family (1909). Melodrama had come a long way from its original simplicity, which equated poverty with virtue and wealth with villainy. The day of true melodrama was over, and occasional revivals of such classic examples as Maria Marten, East Lynne, and The Streets of London have been played as comic caricatures, but melodramatic elements continue to flourish in the theatre as they have done since the time of Euripides. |
|
|
Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Melodrama.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Melodrama.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama [Gr.,=song-drama], 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 (1762; first performed 1770) 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. The common use of the term melodrama refers to sentimental stage plays of this sort. The leading authors of melodramas in the early 19th cent. were Guilbert de Pixérécourt of France and the German August von Kotzebue. The term was used extensively in England in the 19th cent. as a device to circumvent the law that limited legitimate plays to certain theaters. One of the most-popular of theatrical genres in 19th. cent England and America, its "tear-jerking" style easily made the transition to film, radio and television, where they are represented by the maudlin excesses and unbelievable coincidences of contemporary soap operas. The term is now applied to all scripts with overdrawn characterizations, smashing climaxes, and appeal to sentiment. Famous examples of stage melodramas include East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood and Ten Nights in a Barroom by W. W. Pratt.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"melodrama." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melodrama." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-melodram.html "melodrama." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-melodram.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama. Dramatic comp., or part of play or opera, in which words are recited to a mus. commentary. Popularized late in 18th cent. Where one or two actors are involved, ‘monodrama’ or ‘duodrama’ is term used. J. A. Benda's Ariadne auf Naxos (1774) and Medea (1775) are early examples. Mozart used melodramatic monologues in Zaide (1780). Fibich wrote a trilogy Hippodamia (1888–91). Famous operatic examples occur in the dungeon scene of Fidelio, the Wolf's Glen in Der Freischütz, Gertrude's aria in Marschner's Hans Heiling, the Empress in Act III of Die Frau ohne Schatten, and in Peter Grimes. Other examples are R. Strauss's Enoch Arden (1898), Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1935), Bliss's Morning Heroes (1930), and Vaughan Williams's An Oxford Elegy (1949). The word has also come to mean an over-dramatic play, hence the adjective ‘melodramatic’, but in a musical connotation the orig. meaning is conveyed.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-melodrama.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-melodrama.html |
|
melodrama
mel·o·dra·ma / ˈmeləˌdrämə/ • n. 1. a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions. ∎ the genre of drama of this type. ∎ language, behavior, or events that resemble drama of this kind: what little is known of his early life is cloaked in melodrama. 2. hist. a play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action. DERIVATIVES: mel·o·dram·a·tist / ˌmeləˈdrämətist/ n. mel·o·dram·a·tize / ˌmeləˈdräməˌtīz/ v. |
|
|
Cite this article
"melodrama." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melodrama." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-melodrama.html "melodrama." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-melodrama.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama originally, a stage-play (typically romantic and sensational in plot and incident) with songs interspersed and action accompanied by appropriate orchestral music. As the musical element ceased to be regarded as essential, the word came to mean a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.
Recorded from the early 19th century, the word comes via French from Greek melos ‘music’ 7plus; French drame ‘drama’. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "melodrama." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "melodrama." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-melodrama.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "melodrama." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-melodrama.html |
|
Melodramma
Melodramma, Italian play with music, each element being equally important. It evolved during the 18th century from the earlier pastoral, the chief writers connected with it being Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio, whose librettos have since been used by innumerable composers of opera. The term is sometimes used for the monodrama popular in Germany during the late 18th century.
|
|
|
Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodramma." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodramma." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Melodramma.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Melodramma." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Melodramma.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama, in early 19th-cent. use, a stage play (usually romantic and sensational in plot and incident) in which songs and music were interspersed. In later use the musical element diminished and the name now denotes a dramatic piece characterized by sensational incident and violent appeals to the emotions, but with a happy ending [OED].
|
|
|
Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-melodrama.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-melodrama.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama (orig.) stage play with appropriate music; (later) sensational play with a happy ending. XIX. alt. (after drama) of earlier melodrame — F. mélodrame, f. Gr. mélos song; see next and DRAMA.
Hence melodramatic XIX. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-melodrama.html T. F. HOAD. "melodrama." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-melodrama.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama Theatrical form originating in late 18th-century France, and achieving its greatest popularity during the following century. It relied on simple, violent plots in which virtue was finally rewarded.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"melodrama." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melodrama." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-melodrama.html "melodrama." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-melodrama.html |
|
melodramma
melodramma (It.). 17th-cent. term for opera. Nothing to do with melodrama.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodramma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodramma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-melodramma.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "melodramma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-melodramma.html |
|
melodrama
melodrama •Alabama, clamour (US clamor), crammer, gamma, glamour (US glamor), gnamma, grammar, hammer, jammer, lamber, mamma, rammer, shammer, slammer, stammer, yammer
•Padma • magma • drachma
•Alma, halma, Palma
•Cranmer • asthma • mahatma
•miasma, plasma
•jackhammer • sledgehammer
•yellowhammer • windjammer
•flimflammer • programmer
•amah, armour (US armor), Atacama, Brahma, Bramah, charmer, cyclorama, dharma, diorama, disarmer, drama, embalmer, farmer, Kama, karma, lama, llama, Matsuyama, panorama, Parma, pranayama, Rama, Samar, Surinamer, Vasco da Gama, Yama, Yokohama
•snake-charmer • docudrama
•melodrama
•contemner, dilemma, Emma, emmer, Jemma, lemma, maremma, stemma, tremor
•Elmer, Selma, Thelma, Velma
•Mesmer
•claimer, defamer, framer, proclaimer, Shema, tamer
|
|
|
Cite this article
"melodrama." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melodrama." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-melodrama.html "melodrama." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-melodrama.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
