Include a Prologue or Epilogue, Yes or No?

I think this is an interesting topic, but the answer depends on the story the author is telling. Recently I've read many epilogues in books, particularly romances both historical and contemporary, where the epilogue shows how happy the couple finally are together with all the misunderstandings presented in the story at an end. My personal feeling after reading these is that some work, some don't. The same goes for prologues. These are very popular in scifi and fantasy books, and in mysteries or thrillers. They help set up a background event for the story, and because they are labeled a prologue, don't create a jarring jump for the reader when the second chapter starts in another place and time from chapter one. Yet sometimes a time or location byline at the beginning of the chapter accomplishes the same transition. Again, I think some work and some don't, mostly based on whether they draw me into the story or don't. Everything depends on the author's purpose for including a prologue or epilogue.

Prologue, according to Merriam-Webster Online, is "the preface or introduction to a literary work." I've seen introductions called preludes and prefaces, too, which seems incorrect to me. A preface is "the introductory remarks of a speaker or author," which to me in most cases appears in nonfiction rather than fiction. For me, a prelude is a more music-related term, although the definition could meet the label for a prologue. 

I admit to having used a prologue in Devil's Due, but I had a purpose. The previous two books in the Black Angel series had mentioned an event out of some of the characters' pasts to explain their present behavior, but many questions remained about exactly what happened. In the prologue of Devil's Due, I gave the perspective of what occurred from the person most involved in the disaster's results. That way the reader knew the character, who also had an active part in this book's storyline. It gave a historical background for his decision, his mental state, and his family's influence.

I will also admit I have yet to find the need for an epilogue, or "a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work." My last chapter usually completes that function, and I haven't found the need to have an epilogue to finish the storyline. (And yes, I know, it can be either storyline or storyline--I love English and its many peculiarities of spelling.) I have read some that worked, particularly in an ongoing series where the last chapter concluded the story's action, but the epilogue showed the continuation of some aspect or action within the story ancillary to ending.

Personally, I think the author needs to seriously consider what the prologue or epilogue add to the story, and if it is better explained in the story itself before using either one.

So my answer is...it depends.

Visit these blogs for more opinions on this topic:
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