Definition of melodrama in English:

melodrama

noun ˈmɛlə(ʊ)drɑːməˈmɛləˌdrɑmə

1A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.
he gloated like a villain in a Victorian melodrama
Example sentencesExamples
- This melodrama, and I love melodramas, is really beautifully performed, it's heartfelt and tense and romantic.
- The feel of a sensational melodrama is part of its success: this is rich, indulgent, luxurious story-telling, the kind of book that you can really get your teeth into - and want to read it in one sitting.
- Love Story is also historically interesting for the way it combines the heightened emotions of the Gainsborough costume melodramas with the ingredients of the more realistic wartime dramas that the studio produced at the same time.
- Hepworth produced on average three films a week, ranging from melodramas and slapstick comedies to scenics and travel films.
- The story of a young architect's vision foiled by wrangling politicians is now the stuff of folklore, making it the perfect subject for an excellent musical melodrama.
- By evoking scenes from old Hollywood melodramas and thrillers, the images conveyed vague feelings of tension and threat.
- For this is what Bad Blood is - an unashamed melodrama, complete with villains, misunderstood heroes and convoluted, nonsensical plots.
- This cast and this production prove their superiority again here and serve the script well, neither overplaying the melodrama or underemphasizing the pain.
- Like soap operas and melodramas, Magnolia is characterized by excess.
- They believe that they can recreate the depth of emotion found in some 1940s melodramas by reproducing or reinventing a certain set of narrative devices and by clever casting and design work.
- Greta Garbo played tragic lovers, exotic temptresses and steely heroines, anchoring many mediocre melodramas and haughty period pieces like a pro.
- Yet the strongest melodramas are those without apparent villains, where characters end up hurting each other unwittingly, just by pursing their desires.
- Instead of a crime-does-not-pay melodrama, the play became an acute study of marital and psychological disintegration
- Adding drama to the downtown scene are the melodramas and vaudeville revues presented at the Gaslighter Theater.
- The Gaiety stuck to its well-tried popular repertory of melodramas, comedies, and musicals, though both theatres scheduled touring opera companies throughout the year.
- Tragedies, dramas and melodramas tend to engage the audience on a more emotional level.
- With epic melodramas such as this one, the main character always makes one fatal mistake.
- Films are a popular form of entertainment, and several Greek filmmakers and production companies have produced a body of melodramas, comedies, musicals, and art films.
- By contrast, the latter was a first attempt at classical tragedy, though fused with elements from current revenge-driven melodramas such as Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the most popular stage hit of the era.
- Camille is grand melodrama that rivals the theatrics of the most tawdry soap opera.
1. 1.1mass noun The genre of melodrama.
  he abandoned melodrama for realism
  Example sentencesExamples
  You might not have heard of Bollywood, but the popular blend of Hindi music and melodrama has been around since 1931.
  I think in general it's a great study of how to push right to the line that separates high drama, melodrama even, from parody.
  Rather, the reality of the characters certifies the melodrama and makes it all the more thrilling.
  When it debuted in 1949, ‘Death of a Salesman’ was ridiculed as being sentimental melodrama and even a work of Marxist propaganda.
  I've always had a problem with the musical genre of melodrama - the use of a speaker with music.
  It's not drama, it's melodrama, it's not theatre, it's opera.
  They imitated the Hollywood genres of comedy, melodrama, musicals and Westerns.
  I see no reason why a comic book genre film cannot be taken seriously, building genuine drama, rather than melodrama.
  By giving her a love interest, the movie fits into more traditional representations of women in the filmic genre of the woman's melodrama.
  The challenges stimulated more work on genres, like melodrama, that addressed women.
  The script veers away from realism to serve melodrama through a selection of overly drawn speeches.
  If, in its original form, melodrama had a relatively short shelf-life, the sudden intrusion of the spoken voice into opera has been used by most composers ever since.
  The movie is quintessentially French, focusing on drama instead of melodrama and character instead of plot.
  Swimming Upstream is an interesting genre hybrid, part family melodrama, part sporting saga, part coming-of-age story.
  Boyle's approach to the material is equally dynamic, but the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce veers uncomfortably between maudlin fantasy, comic whimsy and outright melodrama.
  As has been extensively detailed elsewhere, the melodrama, along with music and comedy, became synonymous with the cinema in Latin America after the introduction of sound.
  Drama slides irretrievably into melodrama and leaves this novel, with all its adult pretensions, firmly in the playground.
  Whether melodrama, farce, or even tragedy, it holds the attention.
  Enduring female friendships, in various forms, have been explored in both mainstream and independent cinema over the last decade or so, predominantly through the genres of melodrama and comedy.
  So everything it does gets infused with the theatrical techniques of melodrama.
2. 1.2mass noun Behaviour or events that resemble melodrama.
  what little is known of his early life is cloaked in melodrama
  Example sentencesExamples
  Wonderful music, emotional plots, trend-setting song sequences and much melodrama have been the hallmarks of his films.
  The fanciful camera work, the huge scope, the saturated Warner colors, and the relentless melodrama lifts the piece into mythic levels.
  The Chief Inspector was furious at the melodrama created and the exaggerated, sinister choice of tone.
  Jules Furthman's script (based on a John Monk Saunders story) is devoid of melodrama or sentimentality.
  Amid the laughter, the melodrama and hysteria, this is a play with a terrible, almost frightening undertow of sadness and helplessness.
  In fact, these kinds of films need melodrama; they need action or events that externalise the emotions driving the story.
  There seems to be no way out and rack my brains as I did, I could not see an answer to the question, other than the improbable melodrama of her embracing a closed religious order.
  Mitchell, who has perhaps the greatest challenge, is perfect as the tragic-comic heroine, just neurotic enough without indulging in melodrama.
  Dropping any melodrama, she deals with the hard currency of possible events.
  Nonetheless they showed Andersen a way to write stories with unhappy endings while avoiding the sentimentality and melodrama that plague his novels.
  It was a fabulous piece of work, a perfect mix of melodrama and dark comedy in right taste incorporated in a strong script.
  Their hostility finds the right balance of melodrama and reality, making you feel for them while wishing you could shake them into understanding one another.
  I knew even then, I think, that my histrionics teetered on hysteria, but my self-conscious melodrama only angered me more.
  It's a magnificent, ridiculous song, equal parts grotesquery, sentiment and melodrama.
  Though there's an inescapable current of sentiment and even melodrama here, The Sea Inside smartly explores the same terror of empty life that has lurked in the director's other films.
  ‘It's meant to be’ jibes Danilo as he storms off the Westmorland Hall stage with such splendid melodrama he almost pushes conductor Wyn Davies into his illustrious players.
  It is an old-fashioned, admirably reticent film that succeeds not through daring but by avoiding the seductions of sentimentality and melodrama.
  Through Mrs Swille, the novel hints at the weaknesses of a culture that has long been, and remains, rooted in sentimentalism and melodrama.
  The Station Agent was a quiet character piece with unnecessary melodrama in its third act, overall pleasant and endearing.
  One of the film's many strengths is that it never descends into melodrama or sentimentality.
2historical A play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action.
Example sentencesExamples
- It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau who invented the melodrama in his dramatic monologue Pygmalion, first performed in Paris in the early 1760s.
- The other three works are melodramas - that is, music written to accompany a speaker.
- The very first melodramas were characterised by incessant music - ‘melos’ in Greek - that accompanied the action, and so it is here.
- East Lynne is a melodrama with music telling how a woman is tricked into believing her husband is having an affair.
- He wrote songs, operas, and operettas, pantomimes, melodramas, and in 1823, a History of Music.
- I went reluctantly to Bingley Little Theatre's production of the Victorian melodrama with music East Lynne.

Derivatives

melodramatist

noun mɛlə(ʊ)ˈdramətɪst

Apart from the traditions of Italian stage farce it owes as much to silent comedy as the other films owe to the silent cinema's melodramatists.
Example sentencesExamples
- As befits the melodramatist, the composer does not disdain ‘sensation music’.
- Unfaithful is a moral tale told by a master melodramatist - full of grandiose sound and imagery, but signifying not much of anything.
- The composer Zdenek Fibich - symphonist, opera composer, melodramatist, and composer of one of the most extended keyboard cycles written since Chopin - would have been l50.
- He was a melodramatist, infusing all those silly melodramas with style, with signs and meanings.

melodramatize

verb ˌmɛləʊˈdramətʌɪzˌmɛləˈdrɑməˌtaɪz

[with object]

1Make melodramatic.
in times of trouble, Jack had a tendency to melodramatize his plight
1. 1.1 Adapt or present as a melodrama.
Example sentencesExamples
- Mr. Bloom's position, in love with an unfaithful wife, too well-meaning and congenial to stand up for himself, is not less poignant because Joyce refrains from melodramatizing its poignancy.
- I don't like to melodramatise, but I'll always cherish our time together, you know, just in case.
- By allegory and by exaggeration the gangster genre melodramatized the social Darwinism of the marketplace, rendering it for popular consumption.
- the books melodramatize the artist's struggle to find self-expression

Origin

Early 19th century: from French mélodrame, from Greek melos 'music' + French drame 'drama'.

Definition of melodrama in US English:

melodrama

nounˈmeləˌdräməˈmɛləˌdrɑmə

1A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.
Example sentencesExamples
- By evoking scenes from old Hollywood melodramas and thrillers, the images conveyed vague feelings of tension and threat.
- Like soap operas and melodramas, Magnolia is characterized by excess.
- By contrast, the latter was a first attempt at classical tragedy, though fused with elements from current revenge-driven melodramas such as Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the most popular stage hit of the era.
- This melodrama, and I love melodramas, is really beautifully performed, it's heartfelt and tense and romantic.
- The Gaiety stuck to its well-tried popular repertory of melodramas, comedies, and musicals, though both theatres scheduled touring opera companies throughout the year.
- Camille is grand melodrama that rivals the theatrics of the most tawdry soap opera.
- Instead of a crime-does-not-pay melodrama, the play became an acute study of marital and psychological disintegration
- This cast and this production prove their superiority again here and serve the script well, neither overplaying the melodrama or underemphasizing the pain.
- The story of a young architect's vision foiled by wrangling politicians is now the stuff of folklore, making it the perfect subject for an excellent musical melodrama.
- For this is what Bad Blood is - an unashamed melodrama, complete with villains, misunderstood heroes and convoluted, nonsensical plots.
- Yet the strongest melodramas are those without apparent villains, where characters end up hurting each other unwittingly, just by pursing their desires.
- Adding drama to the downtown scene are the melodramas and vaudeville revues presented at the Gaslighter Theater.
- With epic melodramas such as this one, the main character always makes one fatal mistake.
- They believe that they can recreate the depth of emotion found in some 1940s melodramas by reproducing or reinventing a certain set of narrative devices and by clever casting and design work.
- Greta Garbo played tragic lovers, exotic temptresses and steely heroines, anchoring many mediocre melodramas and haughty period pieces like a pro.
- Hepworth produced on average three films a week, ranging from melodramas and slapstick comedies to scenics and travel films.
- Films are a popular form of entertainment, and several Greek filmmakers and production companies have produced a body of melodramas, comedies, musicals, and art films.
- Tragedies, dramas and melodramas tend to engage the audience on a more emotional level.
- Love Story is also historically interesting for the way it combines the heightened emotions of the Gainsborough costume melodramas with the ingredients of the more realistic wartime dramas that the studio produced at the same time.
- The feel of a sensational melodrama is part of its success: this is rich, indulgent, luxurious story-telling, the kind of book that you can really get your teeth into - and want to read it in one sitting.
1. 1.1 The genre of melodrama.
  Example sentencesExamples
  They imitated the Hollywood genres of comedy, melodrama, musicals and Westerns.
  Swimming Upstream is an interesting genre hybrid, part family melodrama, part sporting saga, part coming-of-age story.
  Boyle's approach to the material is equally dynamic, but the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce veers uncomfortably between maudlin fantasy, comic whimsy and outright melodrama.
  Rather, the reality of the characters certifies the melodrama and makes it all the more thrilling.
  The challenges stimulated more work on genres, like melodrama, that addressed women.
  If, in its original form, melodrama had a relatively short shelf-life, the sudden intrusion of the spoken voice into opera has been used by most composers ever since.
  I think in general it's a great study of how to push right to the line that separates high drama, melodrama even, from parody.
  As has been extensively detailed elsewhere, the melodrama, along with music and comedy, became synonymous with the cinema in Latin America after the introduction of sound.
  By giving her a love interest, the movie fits into more traditional representations of women in the filmic genre of the woman's melodrama.
  It's not drama, it's melodrama, it's not theatre, it's opera.
  Whether melodrama, farce, or even tragedy, it holds the attention.
  You might not have heard of Bollywood, but the popular blend of Hindi music and melodrama has been around since 1931.
  I see no reason why a comic book genre film cannot be taken seriously, building genuine drama, rather than melodrama.
  Drama slides irretrievably into melodrama and leaves this novel, with all its adult pretensions, firmly in the playground.
  So everything it does gets infused with the theatrical techniques of melodrama.
  Enduring female friendships, in various forms, have been explored in both mainstream and independent cinema over the last decade or so, predominantly through the genres of melodrama and comedy.
  I've always had a problem with the musical genre of melodrama - the use of a speaker with music.
  The movie is quintessentially French, focusing on drama instead of melodrama and character instead of plot.
  The script veers away from realism to serve melodrama through a selection of overly drawn speeches.
  When it debuted in 1949, ‘Death of a Salesman’ was ridiculed as being sentimental melodrama and even a work of Marxist propaganda.
2. 1.2 Language, behavior, or events that resemble melodrama.
  what little is known of his early life is cloaked in melodrama
  Example sentencesExamples
  The Chief Inspector was furious at the melodrama created and the exaggerated, sinister choice of tone.
  Nonetheless they showed Andersen a way to write stories with unhappy endings while avoiding the sentimentality and melodrama that plague his novels.
  It was a fabulous piece of work, a perfect mix of melodrama and dark comedy in right taste incorporated in a strong script.
  I knew even then, I think, that my histrionics teetered on hysteria, but my self-conscious melodrama only angered me more.
  In fact, these kinds of films need melodrama; they need action or events that externalise the emotions driving the story.
  One of the film's many strengths is that it never descends into melodrama or sentimentality.
  Jules Furthman's script (based on a John Monk Saunders story) is devoid of melodrama or sentimentality.
  ‘It's meant to be’ jibes Danilo as he storms off the Westmorland Hall stage with such splendid melodrama he almost pushes conductor Wyn Davies into his illustrious players.
  Though there's an inescapable current of sentiment and even melodrama here, The Sea Inside smartly explores the same terror of empty life that has lurked in the director's other films.
  Mitchell, who has perhaps the greatest challenge, is perfect as the tragic-comic heroine, just neurotic enough without indulging in melodrama.
  It is an old-fashioned, admirably reticent film that succeeds not through daring but by avoiding the seductions of sentimentality and melodrama.
  Dropping any melodrama, she deals with the hard currency of possible events.
  Their hostility finds the right balance of melodrama and reality, making you feel for them while wishing you could shake them into understanding one another.
  There seems to be no way out and rack my brains as I did, I could not see an answer to the question, other than the improbable melodrama of her embracing a closed religious order.
  Through Mrs Swille, the novel hints at the weaknesses of a culture that has long been, and remains, rooted in sentimentalism and melodrama.
  The fanciful camera work, the huge scope, the saturated Warner colors, and the relentless melodrama lifts the piece into mythic levels.
  Wonderful music, emotional plots, trend-setting song sequences and much melodrama have been the hallmarks of his films.
  It's a magnificent, ridiculous song, equal parts grotesquery, sentiment and melodrama.
  Amid the laughter, the melodrama and hysteria, this is a play with a terrible, almost frightening undertow of sadness and helplessness.
  The Station Agent was a quiet character piece with unnecessary melodrama in its third act, overall pleasant and endearing.
2historical A play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action.
Example sentencesExamples
- It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau who invented the melodrama in his dramatic monologue Pygmalion, first performed in Paris in the early 1760s.
- East Lynne is a melodrama with music telling how a woman is tricked into believing her husband is having an affair.
- I went reluctantly to Bingley Little Theatre's production of the Victorian melodrama with music East Lynne.
- The other three works are melodramas - that is, music written to accompany a speaker.
- The very first melodramas were characterised by incessant music - ‘melos’ in Greek - that accompanied the action, and so it is here.
- He wrote songs, operas, and operettas, pantomimes, melodramas, and in 1823, a History of Music.

Origin

Early 19th century: from French mélodrame, from Greek melos ‘music’ + French drame ‘drama’.

单词	melodrama
释义	Definition of melodrama in English: melodrama noun ˈmɛlə(ʊ)drɑːməˈmɛləˌdrɑmə 1A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions. he gloated like a villain in a Victorian melodrama Example sentencesExamples This melodrama, and I love melodramas, is really beautifully performed, it's heartfelt and tense and romantic. The feel of a sensational melodrama is part of its success: this is rich, indulgent, luxurious story-telling, the kind of book that you can really get your teeth into - and want to read it in one sitting. Love Story is also historically interesting for the way it combines the heightened emotions of the Gainsborough costume melodramas with the ingredients of the more realistic wartime dramas that the studio produced at the same time. Hepworth produced on average three films a week, ranging from melodramas and slapstick comedies to scenics and travel films. The story of a young architect's vision foiled by wrangling politicians is now the stuff of folklore, making it the perfect subject for an excellent musical melodrama. By evoking scenes from old Hollywood melodramas and thrillers, the images conveyed vague feelings of tension and threat. For this is what Bad Blood is - an unashamed melodrama, complete with villains, misunderstood heroes and convoluted, nonsensical plots. This cast and this production prove their superiority again here and serve the script well, neither overplaying the melodrama or underemphasizing the pain. Like soap operas and melodramas, Magnolia is characterized by excess. They believe that they can recreate the depth of emotion found in some 1940s melodramas by reproducing or reinventing a certain set of narrative devices and by clever casting and design work. Greta Garbo played tragic lovers, exotic temptresses and steely heroines, anchoring many mediocre melodramas and haughty period pieces like a pro. Yet the strongest melodramas are those without apparent villains, where characters end up hurting each other unwittingly, just by pursing their desires. Instead of a crime-does-not-pay melodrama, the play became an acute study of marital and psychological disintegration Adding drama to the downtown scene are the melodramas and vaudeville revues presented at the Gaslighter Theater. The Gaiety stuck to its well-tried popular repertory of melodramas, comedies, and musicals, though both theatres scheduled touring opera companies throughout the year. Tragedies, dramas and melodramas tend to engage the audience on a more emotional level. With epic melodramas such as this one, the main character always makes one fatal mistake. Films are a popular form of entertainment, and several Greek filmmakers and production companies have produced a body of melodramas, comedies, musicals, and art films. By contrast, the latter was a first attempt at classical tragedy, though fused with elements from current revenge-driven melodramas such as Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the most popular stage hit of the era. Camille is grand melodrama that rivals the theatrics of the most tawdry soap opera. 1.1mass noun The genre of melodrama. he abandoned melodrama for realism Example sentencesExamples You might not have heard of Bollywood, but the popular blend of Hindi music and melodrama has been around since 1931. I think in general it's a great study of how to push right to the line that separates high drama, melodrama even, from parody. Rather, the reality of the characters certifies the melodrama and makes it all the more thrilling. When it debuted in 1949, ‘Death of a Salesman’ was ridiculed as being sentimental melodrama and even a work of Marxist propaganda. I've always had a problem with the musical genre of melodrama - the use of a speaker with music. It's not drama, it's melodrama, it's not theatre, it's opera. They imitated the Hollywood genres of comedy, melodrama, musicals and Westerns. I see no reason why a comic book genre film cannot be taken seriously, building genuine drama, rather than melodrama. By giving her a love interest, the movie fits into more traditional representations of women in the filmic genre of the woman's melodrama. The challenges stimulated more work on genres, like melodrama, that addressed women. The script veers away from realism to serve melodrama through a selection of overly drawn speeches. If, in its original form, melodrama had a relatively short shelf-life, the sudden intrusion of the spoken voice into opera has been used by most composers ever since. The movie is quintessentially French, focusing on drama instead of melodrama and character instead of plot. Swimming Upstream is an interesting genre hybrid, part family melodrama, part sporting saga, part coming-of-age story. Boyle's approach to the material is equally dynamic, but the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce veers uncomfortably between maudlin fantasy, comic whimsy and outright melodrama. As has been extensively detailed elsewhere, the melodrama, along with music and comedy, became synonymous with the cinema in Latin America after the introduction of sound. Drama slides irretrievably into melodrama and leaves this novel, with all its adult pretensions, firmly in the playground. Whether melodrama, farce, or even tragedy, it holds the attention. Enduring female friendships, in various forms, have been explored in both mainstream and independent cinema over the last decade or so, predominantly through the genres of melodrama and comedy. So everything it does gets infused with the theatrical techniques of melodrama. 1.2mass noun Behaviour or events that resemble melodrama. what little is known of his early life is cloaked in melodrama Example sentencesExamples Wonderful music, emotional plots, trend-setting song sequences and much melodrama have been the hallmarks of his films. The fanciful camera work, the huge scope, the saturated Warner colors, and the relentless melodrama lifts the piece into mythic levels. The Chief Inspector was furious at the melodrama created and the exaggerated, sinister choice of tone. Jules Furthman's script (based on a John Monk Saunders story) is devoid of melodrama or sentimentality. Amid the laughter, the melodrama and hysteria, this is a play with a terrible, almost frightening undertow of sadness and helplessness. In fact, these kinds of films need melodrama; they need action or events that externalise the emotions driving the story. There seems to be no way out and rack my brains as I did, I could not see an answer to the question, other than the improbable melodrama of her embracing a closed religious order. Mitchell, who has perhaps the greatest challenge, is perfect as the tragic-comic heroine, just neurotic enough without indulging in melodrama. Dropping any melodrama, she deals with the hard currency of possible events. Nonetheless they showed Andersen a way to write stories with unhappy endings while avoiding the sentimentality and melodrama that plague his novels. It was a fabulous piece of work, a perfect mix of melodrama and dark comedy in right taste incorporated in a strong script. Their hostility finds the right balance of melodrama and reality, making you feel for them while wishing you could shake them into understanding one another. I knew even then, I think, that my histrionics teetered on hysteria, but my self-conscious melodrama only angered me more. It's a magnificent, ridiculous song, equal parts grotesquery, sentiment and melodrama. Though there's an inescapable current of sentiment and even melodrama here, The Sea Inside smartly explores the same terror of empty life that has lurked in the director's other films. ‘It's meant to be’ jibes Danilo as he storms off the Westmorland Hall stage with such splendid melodrama he almost pushes conductor Wyn Davies into his illustrious players. It is an old-fashioned, admirably reticent film that succeeds not through daring but by avoiding the seductions of sentimentality and melodrama. Through Mrs Swille, the novel hints at the weaknesses of a culture that has long been, and remains, rooted in sentimentalism and melodrama. The Station Agent was a quiet character piece with unnecessary melodrama in its third act, overall pleasant and endearing. One of the film's many strengths is that it never descends into melodrama or sentimentality. 2historical A play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action. Example sentencesExamples It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau who invented the melodrama in his dramatic monologue Pygmalion, first performed in Paris in the early 1760s. The other three works are melodramas - that is, music written to accompany a speaker. The very first melodramas were characterised by incessant music - ‘melos’ in Greek - that accompanied the action, and so it is here. East Lynne is a melodrama with music telling how a woman is tricked into believing her husband is having an affair. He wrote songs, operas, and operettas, pantomimes, melodramas, and in 1823, a History of Music. I went reluctantly to Bingley Little Theatre's production of the Victorian melodrama with music East Lynne. Derivatives melodramatist noun mɛlə(ʊ)ˈdramətɪst Apart from the traditions of Italian stage farce it owes as much to silent comedy as the other films owe to the silent cinema's melodramatists. Example sentencesExamples As befits the melodramatist, the composer does not disdain ‘sensation music’. Unfaithful is a moral tale told by a master melodramatist - full of grandiose sound and imagery, but signifying not much of anything. The composer Zdenek Fibich - symphonist, opera composer, melodramatist, and composer of one of the most extended keyboard cycles written since Chopin - would have been l50. He was a melodramatist, infusing all those silly melodramas with style, with signs and meanings. melodramatize verb ˌmɛləʊˈdramətʌɪzˌmɛləˈdrɑməˌtaɪz [with object] 1Make melodramatic. in times of trouble, Jack had a tendency to melodramatize his plight 1.1 Adapt or present as a melodrama. Example sentencesExamples Mr. Bloom's position, in love with an unfaithful wife, too well-meaning and congenial to stand up for himself, is not less poignant because Joyce refrains from melodramatizing its poignancy. I don't like to melodramatise, but I'll always cherish our time together, you know, just in case. By allegory and by exaggeration the gangster genre melodramatized the social Darwinism of the marketplace, rendering it for popular consumption. the books melodramatize the artist's struggle to find self-expression Origin Early 19th century: from French mélodrame, from Greek melos 'music' + French drame 'drama'. Definition of melodrama in US English: melodrama nounˈmeləˌdräməˈmɛləˌdrɑmə 1A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions. Example sentencesExamples By evoking scenes from old Hollywood melodramas and thrillers, the images conveyed vague feelings of tension and threat. Like soap operas and melodramas, Magnolia is characterized by excess. By contrast, the latter was a first attempt at classical tragedy, though fused with elements from current revenge-driven melodramas such as Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the most popular stage hit of the era. This melodrama, and I love melodramas, is really beautifully performed, it's heartfelt and tense and romantic. The Gaiety stuck to its well-tried popular repertory of melodramas, comedies, and musicals, though both theatres scheduled touring opera companies throughout the year. Camille is grand melodrama that rivals the theatrics of the most tawdry soap opera. Instead of a crime-does-not-pay melodrama, the play became an acute study of marital and psychological disintegration This cast and this production prove their superiority again here and serve the script well, neither overplaying the melodrama or underemphasizing the pain. The story of a young architect's vision foiled by wrangling politicians is now the stuff of folklore, making it the perfect subject for an excellent musical melodrama. For this is what Bad Blood is - an unashamed melodrama, complete with villains, misunderstood heroes and convoluted, nonsensical plots. Yet the strongest melodramas are those without apparent villains, where characters end up hurting each other unwittingly, just by pursing their desires. Adding drama to the downtown scene are the melodramas and vaudeville revues presented at the Gaslighter Theater. With epic melodramas such as this one, the main character always makes one fatal mistake. They believe that they can recreate the depth of emotion found in some 1940s melodramas by reproducing or reinventing a certain set of narrative devices and by clever casting and design work. Greta Garbo played tragic lovers, exotic temptresses and steely heroines, anchoring many mediocre melodramas and haughty period pieces like a pro. Hepworth produced on average three films a week, ranging from melodramas and slapstick comedies to scenics and travel films. Films are a popular form of entertainment, and several Greek filmmakers and production companies have produced a body of melodramas, comedies, musicals, and art films. Tragedies, dramas and melodramas tend to engage the audience on a more emotional level. Love Story is also historically interesting for the way it combines the heightened emotions of the Gainsborough costume melodramas with the ingredients of the more realistic wartime dramas that the studio produced at the same time. The feel of a sensational melodrama is part of its success: this is rich, indulgent, luxurious story-telling, the kind of book that you can really get your teeth into - and want to read it in one sitting. 1.1 The genre of melodrama. Example sentencesExamples They imitated the Hollywood genres of comedy, melodrama, musicals and Westerns. Swimming Upstream is an interesting genre hybrid, part family melodrama, part sporting saga, part coming-of-age story. Boyle's approach to the material is equally dynamic, but the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce veers uncomfortably between maudlin fantasy, comic whimsy and outright melodrama. Rather, the reality of the characters certifies the melodrama and makes it all the more thrilling. The challenges stimulated more work on genres, like melodrama, that addressed women. If, in its original form, melodrama had a relatively short shelf-life, the sudden intrusion of the spoken voice into opera has been used by most composers ever since. I think in general it's a great study of how to push right to the line that separates high drama, melodrama even, from parody. As has been extensively detailed elsewhere, the melodrama, along with music and comedy, became synonymous with the cinema in Latin America after the introduction of sound. By giving her a love interest, the movie fits into more traditional representations of women in the filmic genre of the woman's melodrama. It's not drama, it's melodrama, it's not theatre, it's opera. Whether melodrama, farce, or even tragedy, it holds the attention. You might not have heard of Bollywood, but the popular blend of Hindi music and melodrama has been around since 1931. I see no reason why a comic book genre film cannot be taken seriously, building genuine drama, rather than melodrama. Drama slides irretrievably into melodrama and leaves this novel, with all its adult pretensions, firmly in the playground. So everything it does gets infused with the theatrical techniques of melodrama. Enduring female friendships, in various forms, have been explored in both mainstream and independent cinema over the last decade or so, predominantly through the genres of melodrama and comedy. I've always had a problem with the musical genre of melodrama - the use of a speaker with music. The movie is quintessentially French, focusing on drama instead of melodrama and character instead of plot. The script veers away from realism to serve melodrama through a selection of overly drawn speeches. When it debuted in 1949, ‘Death of a Salesman’ was ridiculed as being sentimental melodrama and even a work of Marxist propaganda. 1.2 Language, behavior, or events that resemble melodrama. what little is known of his early life is cloaked in melodrama Example sentencesExamples The Chief Inspector was furious at the melodrama created and the exaggerated, sinister choice of tone. Nonetheless they showed Andersen a way to write stories with unhappy endings while avoiding the sentimentality and melodrama that plague his novels. It was a fabulous piece of work, a perfect mix of melodrama and dark comedy in right taste incorporated in a strong script. I knew even then, I think, that my histrionics teetered on hysteria, but my self-conscious melodrama only angered me more. In fact, these kinds of films need melodrama; they need action or events that externalise the emotions driving the story. One of the film's many strengths is that it never descends into melodrama or sentimentality. Jules Furthman's script (based on a John Monk Saunders story) is devoid of melodrama or sentimentality. ‘It's meant to be’ jibes Danilo as he storms off the Westmorland Hall stage with such splendid melodrama he almost pushes conductor Wyn Davies into his illustrious players. Though there's an inescapable current of sentiment and even melodrama here, The Sea Inside smartly explores the same terror of empty life that has lurked in the director's other films. Mitchell, who has perhaps the greatest challenge, is perfect as the tragic-comic heroine, just neurotic enough without indulging in melodrama. It is an old-fashioned, admirably reticent film that succeeds not through daring but by avoiding the seductions of sentimentality and melodrama. Dropping any melodrama, she deals with the hard currency of possible events. Their hostility finds the right balance of melodrama and reality, making you feel for them while wishing you could shake them into understanding one another. There seems to be no way out and rack my brains as I did, I could not see an answer to the question, other than the improbable melodrama of her embracing a closed religious order. Through Mrs Swille, the novel hints at the weaknesses of a culture that has long been, and remains, rooted in sentimentalism and melodrama. The fanciful camera work, the huge scope, the saturated Warner colors, and the relentless melodrama lifts the piece into mythic levels. Wonderful music, emotional plots, trend-setting song sequences and much melodrama have been the hallmarks of his films. It's a magnificent, ridiculous song, equal parts grotesquery, sentiment and melodrama. Amid the laughter, the melodrama and hysteria, this is a play with a terrible, almost frightening undertow of sadness and helplessness. The Station Agent was a quiet character piece with unnecessary melodrama in its third act, overall pleasant and endearing. 2historical A play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action. Example sentencesExamples It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau who invented the melodrama in his dramatic monologue Pygmalion, first performed in Paris in the early 1760s. East Lynne is a melodrama with music telling how a woman is tricked into believing her husband is having an affair. I went reluctantly to Bingley Little Theatre's production of the Victorian melodrama with music East Lynne. The other three works are melodramas - that is, music written to accompany a speaker. The very first melodramas were characterised by incessant music - ‘melos’ in Greek - that accompanied the action, and so it is here. He wrote songs, operas, and operettas, pantomimes, melodramas, and in 1823, a History of Music. Origin Early 19th century: from French mélodrame, from Greek melos ‘music’ + French drame ‘drama’.
随便看	snickers snicker-snack snickery snicket snicking snick or snee snicks shortsightednesses short-sleeved shortss short-staffed short-stay shortstop shortstops short stories short story short subject short suit short-sword short-tailed vole short temper short-tempered short tennis short-term short-termer