The epilogue is a concept that in our language is linked to what is at the end or what happens in a final instance and the case is used in that place, be it in a speech, a literary work, report, essay or in any written composition.
From another point of view, the epilogue can also refer to additional notes that do not belong to the main events narrated in the work, but that can contribute a lot to your understanding. A book that analyzes a part of the history of a country could include in its epilogue events that occurred in other parts of the continent or the world and that could have influenced the situation in that country in some way; In addition, they serve to guide the reader if they have no prior knowledge of the country in question, in order to draw analogies with the era you are talking about. This type of annex allows us to frame the historical situation of that country and collaborate with the understanding of the text on a large scale.
The epilogue of a book or literary work determines the last events of the story told. All the events that end the intrigue will be present in it. It is the part of the text that describes the fate of the characters that make up the plot. In the epilogue you can also reveal facts that complement the meaning of the action.
In a work of theater, the epilogue is the last scene, the last conversation or the last act closing action.
The epilogue is the opposite of the prologue, which is defined as the part that precedes a story. In the prologue, all the events that occur before the main narration are recounted. Therefore, the prologue is the initial part of the event.
In ancient times, the epilogue was used to produce the effect expected in today's theaters, of sainetes, which are performed after a tragedy or drama, as if to calm the violent impressions that the piece has excited . It was a kind of rest that was offered to the activity of imagination and feeling.
In narratology (science that studies the various parts of a narrative), the epilogue must meet a series of conditions to be considered as such; they depend on the type of work that has been developed and the objectives that are achieved with it. However, the fundamental point that no epilogue should not miss is its quality as conclusive and totalizing. This does not mean that a person can know the plot of the work simply by reading the epilogue, but that the fundamental points of the work must be present in this part. In addition, the author can use this last chapter to explain things that at first glance have not been conclusive.
