(n.) Formerly, a kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to intensify the effect of certain scenes. Now, a drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or pathetic. In opera, a passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks; as, the melodrama in the gravedigging scene of Beethoven's "Fidelio".
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). melodrama. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/melodrama/definitions/2031669 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "melodrama" http://smartdefine.org/melodrama/definitions/2031669 (accessed September 26, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, melodrama, Smart Define, viewed 26 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/melodrama/definitions/2031669>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "melodrama" 27 May 2011. Web. 26 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/melodrama/definitions/2031669> |