melodrama

MELODRAMAMELODRAMAMELODRAMAMELODRAMAA play in which there is much A play in which there is much suspense and strong feeling, suspense and strong feeling, and a great exaggeration of and a great exaggeration of good and evil in the characters.good and evil in the characters.

MELODRAMA- a genre of drama that uses theme-

music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types.

- combines "melody" (from the Greek "melōidía“ - "song") and "drama" (- "action").

MELODRAMA- characterizations are more one-

dimensional: • heroes - unambiguously good and their

entrance will be heralded by heroic-sounding trumpets and martial music;

• villains - unambiguously bad, and their entrance will be greeted with dark-sounding, 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.

MELODRAMAThe 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 Pixérécourt (1773-1844).

MELODRAMAThe 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:

MELODRAMAI. 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.

MELODRAMAII. 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.

MELODRAMAIII. 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.

MELODRAMAMelodrama 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."

PARODY1 : 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

PARODYA 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.

PARODYParody 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 Devil’s Disciple is a parody of melodrama because of:

• Mistaken identities (nobody is who they seem to be: the minister-the man of action; the devil’s disciple-the man of conscience, God’s 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 Devil’s 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;

•Dick’s rebellion is against his mother’s 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 father-daughter relationship, than a husband-wife one.