Prologue Meaning
/ˈpɹəʊlɒɡ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
nounOne who delivers a prologue.
Sentence Examples
Victor's editor insisted that he cut out the prologue from his novel draft.
They say this novel is a classic, but I gave up at the prologue.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The author wrote a short ____ before the first chapter to set the scene.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ to the play set the historical context and introduced the main themes of the drama.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English prologue, prologe, from Old French prologue, from Latin prologus, from Ancient Greek πρόλογος (prólogos). Equivalent to pro- + -logue.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what […] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”"
— 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
"And hither am I come, / A Prologue arm’d, but not in confidence / Of Authors pen, or Actors voyce;"
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida. The Prologue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act PROLOGUE, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
"[…]harbindgers preceading ſtill the fates
and prologue to the Omen comming on[…]"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The author wrote a short ____ before the first chapter to set the scene.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ to the play set the historical context and introduced the main themes of the drama.