Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short passage added at the end of a literary work: An epilogue is a concluding section that provides additional comment, explanation, or information about what happens 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 epilogue is a direct address to the audience, often to provide a final comment, moral, or plea for applause.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The novel's epilogue revealed that the protagonist lived a quiet life in the countryside.
  • The actor delivered a humorous epilogue, thanking the audience for their attendance.

Advanced Usage

• "To serve as an epilogue to something": To function as a concluding event or comment.
  • The peaceful treaty served as an epilogue to the long and bitter war.
• Metaphorical Use: Can describe a concluding event in a series.
  • His retirement party was a fitting epilogue to a forty-year career.

Variants and Related Words

• Epilog (noun): An alternative, less common spelling of "epilogue."
• Epilogic (adjective): Pertaining to or of the nature of an epilogue.

Synonyms

• Afterword: A concluding section, often by someone other than the author.
• Conclusion: The end or finish of an event or process.
• Postscript (P.S.): An additional remark at the end of a letter, or by extension, any added comment.

Antonyms

• Prologue: An introductory section of a literary or dramatic work.
• Preface: An introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or aims.
• Foreword: A short introduction to a book, usually by someone other than the author.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "In epilogue": Used to introduce a final, summarizing statement.
  • And so, in epilogue, we must remember the lessons of the past.
• "To write the epilogue on something": To bring something to a definitive end.
  • The scandal wrote the epilogue on his political ambitions.

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