Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short passage added at the end of a literary work: An epilog is a concluding section that provides additional comment, reflection, or information about what happened to the characters after the main story ends.
   • A short speech (often in verse) addressed directly to the audience by an actor at the end of a play: In drama, an epilog is a direct address to the audience, often used to provide a moral, ask for applause, or offer final thoughts.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literary work):
  • The novel's epilog revealed that the protagonist lived a quiet life in the countryside.
  • Many readers enjoy an epilog because it gives a sense of closure.
• Noun (Drama):
  • The actor stepped forward to deliver the play's witty epilog.
  • In Shakespeare's time, an epilog was commonly used to thank the audience.

Advanced Usage

• "To serve as an epilog": to function as a concluding remark or section.
  • The final chapter serves as an epilog to the author's long career.
• "In the epilog": referring to information contained within the concluding section.
  • In the epilog, we learn the fate of the missing treasure.

Variants and Related Words

• Epilogue: The more common alternate spelling of "epilog". Both forms are correct.
• Prologue (n): An introductory section of a literary work or play, serving as the opposite of an epilog.
• Afterword (n): A concluding section, often in nonfiction, similar in placement to an epilog but typically written by someone other than the author.

Synonyms

• Conclusion: The end or finish of an event, process, or text.
• Postscript: An additional remark at the end of a letter, or by extension, any added comment.
• Coda: A concluding passage in music or, metaphorically, in literature.

Related Phrases

• To write an epilog: The act of composing a concluding section.
  • The author decided to write an epilog to tie up loose ends.
• The epilog states: A phrase used to introduce information from the concluding section.
  • The epilog states that the events were based on a true story.

Related Idioms

• "It's all epilog now": A metaphorical saying implying that the main events are over and only the aftermath or consequences remain.
  • The battle was won; what followed was all epilog.

Noun

1. a short passage added at the end of a literary work
   • the epilogue told what eventually happened to the main characters
2. a short speech (often in verse) addressed directly to the audience by an actor at the end of a play