Prologue is an Introduction to a Story, Know the Types and How to Make It

Kapanlagi.com - For those who love reading, the term prologue is certainly familiar. This is because prologue is often found at the beginning of a novel. In addition to novels, prologues also often appear in a drama performance. The presence of a prologue at the opening of a novel or drama can be a way to attract readers or viewers.

A prologue is an introduction to a script, whether it is a text in a book or a script for a drama. This part will provide a brief overview of the story that will be presented in the novel or drama. The presence of a prologue in a work is not mandatory. In daily life, we will also come across many novels without a prologue at the beginning.

Nevertheless, a prologue can add value to a work. Because with a prologue, readers will be interested and curious about the storyline of the novel or drama. To better understand what a prologue is, you can read the following summary compiled from various sources.

1. The Definition of Prologue

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The word prologue is taken from the Greek word 'prologos' which, when translated into Indonesian, means 'the introduction part of literary work'. Based on the general explanation of the word, a prologue is an important part that is located at the beginning of a literary work, especially a novel or drama.

As an introduction, the prologue provides a glimpse of the overall story in the literary work. The parts that usually appear in the prologue include characters and conflicts faced. Specifically for the conflict part, it is usually made briefly and briefly. So that the prologue can arouse the reader's curiosity to enjoy the work as a whole.

2. The Difference Between Prologue and Preface

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Although it has become quite common, there are still many people who do not fully understand what a prologue is. In fact, there are still many people who consider the prologue and the preface to be the same thing. Even though they are clearly different. Here are some points of difference between prologue and preface.

A prologue is an introduction to a story that can appear in the form of a novel, short story, or even a drama. While a preface is an introduction to a work, whether it is literary or not. A preface is also written to start the entire work, not just the story like a prologue.

In addition, a prologue is part of the story, so its form is a story. Meanwhile, a preface is often in the form of greeting sentences. A preface feels personal, as a greeting from the author to the reader.

In terms of content, a prologue is a part of the story that provides an overview of the characters, events, background of the story, and so on. Meanwhile, a preface contains more personal information from the author, such as personal information and the story behind the process of creating the work.

3. Function of Prologue

The existence of a prologue at the beginning of a story is certainly not without reason. This is because the writing and existence of a prologue have their own functions. The functions of a prologue are as follows.

1. As a prefix or opening of a literary work, especially a story.

2. Introducing the characters, actors, backgrounds, conflict descriptions, and story synopses briefly and briefly.

3. Attracting the reader's attention, to make them more curious about the overall story.

4. Types of Prologue

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Along with its development, it turns out that there are several types of prologue. Each type of prologue has different characteristics, depending on the way the play is presented. Therefore, its appearance will also adjust to the type of story or work. Here are some types of prologue.

1. Tragedy
Tragedy is a type of drama with a story full of sadness. Tragedy dramas can present stories of characters full of grief and sadness throughout the story. Encountering this type of prologue can evoke feelings of pity and sympathy from the reader.

2. Comedy
In contrast to tragedy, comedy is a type of drama that depicts a joyful atmosphere. Comedy stories are usually dominated by jokes. This type of drama is quite popular and is one of the drama types that is loved by many people.

3. Opera
Opera is a drama in which dialogues between characters are accompanied by music. In addition to the musical accompaniment, opera players also perform songs. Even the songs sung by one player and another will be different. It can be said that this drama emphasizes more on music and singing, while the presence of the characters involved is only a means of depicting the atmosphere in the story.

4. Melodrama
Melodrama is a type of drama in which the dialogue is spoken with a melodic or musical accompaniment. In the performance of melodrama, the characters also sing along.

5. How to Create a Prologue

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Although not mandatory, the prologue is an important part of a work. Therefore, creating it should not be taken lightly. There are several things to consider. Here are some things to consider when creating a prologue.

1. The prologue should be made as interesting as possible. Because one of the goals of creating a prologue is to attract the reader's attention and make them curious about the overall story.

2. Include the most interesting part of the conflict in the story, but only briefly.

3. Make the prologue short.

4. Make sure the content of the prologue is consistent with the overall storyline.

5. The sentences used in the prologue do not have to be connected. However, make sure that the sentences in the prologue are still related to each other.

Those are some explanations about the prologue, which is an introductory part of a story. Hopefully, it is useful and can broaden your knowledge.

(kpl/psp)