Prologue

Prologue, << PROH lawg, >> is an introduction to a play or other writing. The term comes from two Greek words meaning before and discussion. The prologue explains the situation at the start of a play, or it may tell in general terms what the play is about. Sometimes a prologue becomes important and well-known in its own right, as in Geoffrey Chaucer’s prologue to his collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales.