melodramaticismn.
/ˌmɛlədrəˈmatᵻsɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˌmɛlədrəˈmædəˌsɪzəm/ Now rare.
A tendency to melodramatic expression; sensationalism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > manifestation of emotion > [noun] > outward exhibition > melodramatic behaviour or occurrences > preference for
melodramaticism1841
1841 E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Nov. 228/1 Mr. Ingraham..appeals always to the taste of the ultra-romanticists..and thus is obnoxious to the charge of a certain cut-and-thrust, blue-fire, melodramaticism.
1878 T. Sinclair Mount 152 Their high art is nerve stretching, a kind of spiritual melodramaticism.
1985 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 6 Oct. ii. 26 A young conductor..carried away by Tchaikovsky's melodramaticism, slowed his tempos to the point where the concertmaster had to assert himself.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1841