MELODRAMA

A play in which there is much

suspense and strong feeling, and a
great exaggeration of good and
evil in the characters.

MELODRAMA
- a genre of drama that uses thememusic to manipulate the spectator's
emotional response and to denote
character types.
- combines "melody" (from the Greek
"melida - "song") and "drama" ("action").

MELODRAMA
- characterizations are more onedimensional:
heroes - unambiguously good and their
entrance will be heralded by heroicsounding trumpets and martial music;
villains - unambiguously bad, and their
entrance will be greeted with darksounding, ominous chords.

MELODRAMA
tend to be formulaic productions, with a
clearly constructed world of connotations: a
villain poses a threat, the hero escapes the
threat and/or rescues the heroine.
plays or situations in which action or emotion
is exaggerated and simplified for effect.
Against tragedy, melodrama can have a happy
ending, but this is not always the case.

MELODRAMA
The most popular form of the 19th Century,
melodrama is a sort of literary mixture.
Elements of melodrama existed in 18th
Century forms like sentimental comedy,
domestic tragedy, neoclassic tragedy and
even pantomime. They were brought together
and formalized by August Friedrich
Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1716-1819) and Rene
Charles Guilbert de Pixrcourt (1773-1844).

MELODRAMA
The most important characteristic of
melodrama was the strict observance
of poetic justice in accordance with
the morals of the day: good was
always rewarded and evil always
punished (influence of Neoclassicism).

The world of melodrama is one in which

deeds and characters are separated by
clear-cut distinctions. The characters are
not so much archetypes in the Neoclassic
sense as stock characters. Originally a
play embellished with music, melodrama
followed a fairly narrow contextual
scheme:

MELODRAMA
I. There are stock characters (hero, heroine,
comic character & villain) who do not change
psychologically or morally, which means the
interest lies in the manipulation of the plot in
which fate, Providence and justice play
important parts. The action arises out of the
evil machinations of the cold-blooded villain
operating on a falsely accused hero, a captive
maiden, long suffering elders or some variation
or combination of the above.

MELODRAMA
II. The play is organized in a three act
structure
Act I establishes a strong antagonism.
Act II contains the violent conflict caused
by the antagonism from Act I.
Act III resolves the situation in
accordance with sound moral principles.

 The plot line must be very simple

since subtleties would blur the moral
distinctions. Usually the hero and
heroine undergo superhuman trials at
the hands of unscrupulous forces.

 Suspense is emphasized; the final reversal

of fortunes at the conclusion is extreme:
certain death to safety; certain disgrace
to vindication; poverty to wealth, etc.
There is always a series of plot twists, i.e.
discoveries, hairbreadth escapes utilizing
secret passages, hiding places, disguises,
etc.

MELODRAMA
III. Often melodrama tries to observe the
unities of time, place and action, in a
conscious bow to classicism.
IV. The structure reduces tragedy to its
least common denominator, "enlivening" it
with romantic situations, comic effects,
spectacle, all relieved with a happy ending.

MELODRAMA
Melodrama employs rather crude colors,
violent contrasts, an abundance of exciting
events. The emotional appeals are very
basic: "arousal of pity and indignation at
the wrongful oppression of good people and
intense dislike for wicked oppressors. The
emphasis on plot anticipates the even more
widespread "well-made play."

PARODY
1 : a literary or musical work in which
the style of an author or work is
closely imitated for comic effect or
in ridicule
2 : a feeble or ridiculous imitation

PARODY
A parody, in contemporary usage, is a work
created to mock, comment on, or make
fun at an original work, its subject,
author, style, or some other target, by
means of humorous, satiric or ironic
imitation.

Linda Hutcheon: "parody is imitation, not always

at the expense of the parodied text.
Simon Dentith: "any cultural practice which
provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation
of another cultural production or practice.
Often, the most satisfying element of a good
parody is seeing others mistake it for the
genuine article.

PARODY
Parody may be found in art or culture, including
literature and music.
John Gross observes in his Oxford Book of
Parodies, that parody seems to flourish on
territory somewhere between pastiche ("a
composition in another artist's manner, without
satirical intent") and burlesque (which "fools
around with the material of high literature and
adapts it to low ends").

GENTLEMANLY
JOHNNY (1722-1792)

 British army officer

Participated in the American War of
Independence
During the Saratoga campaign he
surrendered his army of 5,000 men to the
American troops on October 17, 1777.

 Appointed to command a force designated

to capture Albany and end the rebellion,
Burgoyne advanced from Canada but soon
found himself surrounded and
outnumbered.

 He fought two battles at Saratoga, but

was forced to open negotiations with
Horatio Gates. Although he agreed to a
convention, on 17 October 1777, which
would allow his troops to return home, this
was subsequently revoked and his men
were made prisoners.
never held another active command.

The Devils Disciple is a parody of melodrama

because of:
Mistaken identities (nobody is who they
seem to be: the minister-the man of
action; the devils disciple-the man of
conscience, Gods disciple; the faithful
wife-falling in love with the rebell, etc);

 Minister Anderson married out of love,

did not listen to the voice of duty;
Testaments are drafted and changed in
the last minute;
The prodigal son seems to be the only one
with humane qualities (see the way he
treats Essie);

 Surprisingly, Mrs. Dudgeon never loved her

husband, but his brother, Peter;
The Devils disciple is a rebell without a
cause, a thing which is felt and understood
by his father who gives him the bulk of
property through the will;

 Dicks rebellion is against his

mothers Puritanism and
hypocrisy, and against the
narrowmindedness of those
around him (his relatives);

 When the moment of truth arrives, all main

characters show their real identity: Dick
Dudgeon sacrifices himself, observing the
Christian tradition; Minister Anderson
takes the sword and becomes the man of
action; Judith Anderson becomes
emotionally unfaithful to her husband.

Sir: it is in the hour of trial that a man

finds his true profession. This foolish
young man [placing his hand on Richard's
shoulder] boasted himself the Devil's
Disciple;

 but when the hour of trial came to him, he

found that it was his destiny to suffer and
be faithful to the death. I thought myself
a decent minister of the gospel of peace;
but when the hour of trial came to me, I
found that it was my destiny to be a man
of action and that my place was amid the
thunder of the captains and the shouting.

 So I am starting life at fifty as Captain

Anthony Anderson of the Springtown
militia; and the Devil's Disciple here will
start presently as the Reverend Richard
Dudgeon, and wag his pow in my old pulpit,
and give good advice to this silly
sentimental little wife of mine [putting his
other hand on her shoulder. She steals a
glance at Richard to see how the prospect
pleases him].

 Your mother told me, Richard, that I

should never have chosen Judith if I'd
been born for the ministry. I am afraid
she was right; so, by your leave, you may
keep my coat and I'll keep yours.

 Minister Anderson (50) and

Judith (30) share more a fatherdaughter relationship, than a
husband-wife one.