Drama vs. Melodrama

Drama vs. Melodrama Drama vs. Melodrama Drama vs. Melodrama By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, What is the difference between â€Å"dramatic† and â€Å"melodramatic† in common usage, such as â€Å"Don’t be so dramatic† or â€Å"Don’t be so melodramatic†? In common usage, both words are used interchangeably to mean something like â€Å"don’t make such a fuss.† A similar negative use of the noun drama is seen in the expression â€Å"without the drama.† For example: With Cars.com, you get what you need without the drama. Michael Corleone might not have been able to leave the family, but luckily your friends at Foxtel let you leave without the drama. The tagline â€Å"disinfects without the drama† differentiates Betadine from other brands. Thanks to advertising, â€Å"without the drama† has leaked into general usage as shorthand for â€Å"without difficulty,† â€Å"without complication,† â€Å"without upset,† â€Å"without injured feelings,† â€Å"without tantrums,† etc. Here are examples from various non-advertising contexts: Sort out school fees without the drama 5 Picks to Keep Your Kids Active Without the Drama Merging the Stepfamilies Without the Drama Ever wondered what software development could be like without the drama? The expression â€Å"drama queen† has become popular to describe a self-centered person- man or woman- who makes an issue of trivial matters of comfort and personal indulgence. The conventional meaning of the word drama is â€Å"a composition in prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a stage, in which a story is related by means of dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and scenery, as in real life. A melodrama is a drama characterized by exaggeration and sensationalism. The acting style appropriate to a drama is realistic, whereas the acting in a melodrama is bombastic or excessively sentimental. Movies known as â€Å"tears are Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs Kramer, Love Story, Dead Poets Society, Steel Magnolias, and Ghost. Movies with super heroes and super villains, like the Batman films, are also melodramas. The words melodrama and melodramatic are more precise choices than drama and dramatic to describe an excessive display of emotion. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterThe Many Forms of the Verb TO BE50 Tips on How to Write Good