<P> A melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, which is typically sensational and designed to appeal strongly to the emotions, takes precedence over detailed characterization . Characters are often simply drawn, and may appear stereotyped . </P> <P> In scholarly and historical musical contexts, melodramas are Victorian dramas in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action . The term is now also applied to stage performances without incidental music, novels, movies, and television and radio broadcasts . In modern contexts, the term "melodrama" is generally pejorative, as it suggests that the work in question lacks subtlety, character development, or both . By extension, language or behavior which resembles melodrama is often called melodramatic; this use is nearly always pejorative . </P> <P> The term originated from the early 19th - century French word mélodrame . It is derived from Greek μέλος, melos, "honey" (compare "melody," from μελωδία melodia, "sweet song"), and French drame, drama (from Late Latin drāma, eventually deriving from classical Greek δράμα, drama, theatrical plot, usually of a Greek tragedy). Melodrama originated in the 5th century BC . </P> <P> The relationship of melodrama to realism is complex . The protagonists of melodramatic works may either be ordinary (and hence realistically drawn) people who are caught up in extraordinary events, or highly exaggerated and unrealistic characters . According to Singer, late Victorian and Edwardian melodrama combined a conscious focus on realism in stage sets and props with "anti-realism" in character and plot . Melodrama in this period strove for "credible accuracy in the depiction of incredible, extraordinary" scenes . Novelist Wilkie Collins is noted for his attention to accuracy in detail (e.g. of legal matters) in his works, no matter how sensational the plot . </P>

The theatrical genre melodrama got its name because
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