Prologue - Prologue (English spelling)

It can be translated as "preface," "prologue," or "prologue." There are two types: one in which a speechwriter appears before the opening of a play and explains the main plot of the play while incorporating criticism of the politics and society of the time, and one in which a short scene is set up to hint at the content of the play that is about to begin. It is said to have started with Euripides in the 4th century BC, but it became popular during the Renaissance, and in the Elizabethan era it was called the chorus. It was particularly used in plays around Europe from the Restoration period to the 18th century. It also refers to the independent prologue parts of operas, ballets, and music, and the opening parts of poems and novels, and is used as a general term to indicate the beginning or beginning of something. It is the opposite of epilogue.

[Takashi Shonan]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「序詞」「序幕」「前口上」などと訳される。劇の開幕に先だって口上役が登場して、当時の政治や社会への批評を絡ませたりしながら劇の大筋を説明する場合と、短い一場面を設けて、これから始まる劇の内容を暗示する場合の二つの形がある。紀元前4世紀のエウリピデスに始まるとされるが、一般化するのはルネサンス期で、エリザベス朝時代はコーラスの名でよばれた。とくに王政復古期から18世紀にかけてヨーロッパ各国の演劇で盛んに用いられた。また、オペラ、バレエ、音楽の独立した序の部分や、詩、小説の冒頭部分をもさし、物事の始まりや発端を示す一般用語としても使用される。エピローグの対(つい)の用語。

［高師昭南］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例