An epilogue is a chapter added to the end of a work of literature, providing closure and resolving issues. It can suggest a sequel or show that the characters’ problems are not over. Epilogues can also be used to show consequences, allude to lingering threats, or directly address the reader.
In literature, an epilogue is a chapter added to the end of a novel, short story, play, or even poem. Epilogues can also appear in non-fiction works. After the climax in a work of fiction, an epilogue shows the reader, or viewer in the case of a play, what has happened to the characters after the story ends. The epilogue can also be used to suggest a sequel to the current story, or to show that the characters’ problems may not really be over, a popular technique in horror and suspense stories.
Many fiction writers use epilogues to provide closure for readers or viewers who, after investing in characters over the course of the narrative, may want to learn about those characters’ fates. The epilogue can also be used to tie up loose ends, resolving issues that have been raised in the narrative but not resolved prior to the story’s climax. An epilogue can take place anytime after the story ends; it can be set a few hours later, the next day, or several decades into the future. Epilogues are often used to show the protagonist of a story leading a happily ever after life after surviving the upheaval and conflict he experienced during the narrative.
Epilogues are not always used to show a happy ending to a character’s story. In many works of literature, especially those in which an antihero is the main character, the epilogue may show that the character finally suffers the consequences of his wrong moral choices. In many horror and suspense novels, the epilogue is used to allude to a lingering threat. The characters may believe that the monster or villain has been defeated, but the epilogue shows that the danger is not over and the characters are not as safe as they may believe. The epilogue can also be used to show that a story isn’t really over and that there will be another installment or sequel.
Sometimes, after a novel, short story, or play is finished, the writer will “step out of the story” and speak directly to the reader or audience. At the end of some shows, a character will come forward to thank the audience for watching the show. In some fairy tales, the writer or narrator will directly describe the lesson or moral that the characters and readers are supposed to have learned from the story. After a non-fiction book about true events is published, an epilogue may be added in later editions, giving an account of what happened after the events described in the book.
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