Victorian society Flashcards
How was melodrama the product of a major social change in the nineteenth century?
The Industrial Revolution produced a much bigger middle class which was morally and socially conservative and an artisan working class whose lives were often monotonous.
What did both sections of society crave and how was this executed?
An excitement that also reinforced their moral beliefs and melodrama, whether in the form of novels or stage plays about good overcoming evil, virtue overcoming vice or right triumphing wrong, met that need.
How popular was melodrama in nineteenth century Britain?
It became the most popular kind of theatrical entertainment for most of the nineteenth century, a period when more people went to the theatre than at any time in history.
Despite the declines in the popularity of melodrama on stage by the end of the century,, how did it impact future generations?
Its influence continued to be immense, and had a significant influence on the development of early silent films, and its techniques persist today in cinema, television, fiction, and theatre.
