Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence: Describes a literary work, communication, or relationship that is composed of or conducted through letters.

Usage

• The adjective "epistolatory" is used to describe the format or medium of a narrative, a novel, or a style of communication. It is a formal term, most commonly applied in literary analysis.
• It is typically placed before a noun (e.g., an epistolatory novel) or used after a linking verb (e.g., The style is epistolatory).

Examples

Advanced Usage

• Epistolatory novel/convention/style: Standard phrases in literary criticism referring to a novel written as a series of documents, usually letters.
  • "Pamela" by Samuel Richardson is a famous early example of the epistolatory novel.

Variants and Related Words

• Epistolary (adj): This is the more common and preferred variant, identical in meaning to "epistolatory."
  • She specialized in the epistolary fiction of the Enlightenment period.
• Epistle (n): A formal or literary letter.
  • The biblical Epistles of Paul are letters to early Christian communities.

Synonyms

• Correspondence-based: Conducted through written letters.
• Letter-form: In the form of a letter or letters.

Antonyms

• Oral: Spoken rather than written.
• Narrative: Told in a standard prose narrative form (as opposed to a collection of documents).

Adjective

1. written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence
   • an endless sequence of epistolary love affairs
   • the epistolatory novel