Melodrama

By Em m al ee Pet rick , Jared Evan s, an d

Han n ah Pet t erson
What is a Melodrama?
Melodrama
noun/ melo- dra- ma/
;drama in which many exciting events
happen and the characters have very
strong or exaggerated emotions
;a situation or series of events in which
people have very strong or exaggerated
emotions
Primary form of theatre in the 19th
century becoming most popular in
1840
Comes from music drama scripts were
used to increase emotion or signify
characters
Good and evil are embodied in stock
characters
The villain poses a threat; hero escapes;
ends with a happy ending
Historical Facts/ Overview
Melodramas were the primary form of theatre during the 19th century.

They were started by the French in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as
part of the Romantic Literary period.

I n the 180 0 s most of the melodramas were romantic, exotic, and supernatural.

1820 s they were more familiar in setting and character.

1830 s they became more elevated.

Major Melodrama Playwrights
August Von Kotzebue (The Stranger)

Rene Charles Pixerecourt (The Ruins of Babylon, The Forest of Bondy)

Douglas Jerrold (Black- Eyed Susan, All in the Downs)

Dion Boucicault (The Octoroon, Corsican Brothers)

Major Plays

Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, Hyde

Shootout at Sadies Saloon

My Pretty Jane (Edward Fitzball)

The Floating Beacon

Murder at the Roadside Inn (Edward Fitzball)

The Ostler and the Robber (Edward Fitzball)

 Other Facts
19th century Europe was full of
uneducated country people
who worked long hours in hard
conditions. The theatre was one
of their only escapes of
entertainment. It was
entertainment that was cheap
and welcoming.
 Multiple theatres were rebuilt so
they could hold more audience
members. The new stage were so
big that every effect needed to be
big and well pointed so every
audience member could see what
was going on. I t was transformed
into a broad gesture and ranting.
The crowd wanted to forget the
stress and dullness of their
everyday lives and demanded more
humor, romance, adventure, threat,
and triumph.
Thus began the
popularity of the
melodrama. Melodramas
are characterized by
extreme conflicts to
extreme conclusions.
Sources
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melodrama

http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/melodrama.htm

https://prezi.com/z0ljkr9ed2bb/who-were-the-famous-playwrights-of-the-melodrama-era/

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/trsanders/units/modern_drama/melodrama.html

http://crossref-it.info/articles/517/nineteenth-century-melodrama
The End