Abstract
A soap opera is a work of fiction taking the form of a serial, generally televised or radio phonic. They made their appearance with the radio in the Thirties. When the large networks started to develop, naturally these series followed .This designation comes from the fact that the first American radio phonic serials were sponsored by American laundry soap companies like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Pepsodent. The term opera comes from the fact that operas tell a story, just as the soaps do. These serials were diffused in week during the day, aiming at the audience of the housewives. The soap is a particular kind in the field of the series because it does not answer any traditional diagram of construction of a series. Their great force lies in the fact that they manage to allure the lasting public for astronomical periods which can go up to 50 years for the oldest still broadcast (Guiding Light, 1952, radio soap).
