MELODRAMA A Brief History and Conventions A Brief History of Melodrama Melodrama developed as a theatrical form in the 19th century in France, thanks to the French playwright Rene de Pixerecourt. Melodrama quickly became the dominant theatre form around the Western World for the next century and thousands of plays were written in this style. They were a mixture of violence, romance and sentimentality, with short scenes full of action. They used spectacular settings, music, exaggerated acting and encouraged audience interaction to promote its popularity. Conventions of Melodrama Plot and Structure Melodramas always have simple moral plots, where the story would show a struggle between good and evil and would conclude with the restoration of a morally correct and just society. Each play relied on extreme opposites, to captivate the audience attention and ignite reactions, such as justice vs. revenge, honesty vs. dishonesty, or innocence vs. corruption A traditional melodrama plot would include the following three elements: Provocation: the initial cause for setting action into motion – jealousy or greed forces an evil character to plan an offence. Pangs: the consequential sufferings of the good and innocent characters who are caught up in the evil plot. Penalty: in a last minute twist of fate, the wicked character has their plans foiled and receives a punishment for his/her evil actions. Characters
MELODRAMA A Brief History and Conventions A Brief History of Melodrama Melodrama developed as a theatrical form in the 19th century in France, thanks to the French playwright Rene de Pixerecourt. Melodrama quickly became the dominant theatre form around the Western World for the next century and thousands of plays were written in this style. They were a mixture of violence, romance and sentimentality, with short scenes full of action. They used spectacular settings, music, exaggerated acting and encouraged audience interaction to promote its popularity. Conventions of Melodrama Plot and Structure Melodramas always have simple moral plots, where the story would show a struggle between good and evil and would conclude with the restoration of a morally correct and just society. Each play relied on extreme opposites, to captivate the audience attention and ignite reactions, such as justice vs. revenge, honesty vs. dishonesty, or innocence vs. corruption A traditional melodrama plot would include the following three elements: Provocation: the initial cause for setting action into motion – jealousy or greed forces an evil character to plan an offence. Pangs: the consequential sufferings of the good and innocent characters who are caught up in the evil plot. Penalty: in a last minute twist of fate, the wicked character has their plans foiled and receives a punishment for his/her evil actions. Characters