Prologue vs Preface
The difference between prologue and preface may sometimes be difficult to comprehend as they both appear in the beginning of a book and appear to have the same purpose. However, they are two very different pieces of writing that are included in the book by the writer for very different purposes. Prologue and Preface are two terms that are often heard in literature, that have to be understood distinctly. It is important to know that both these words form part of the terminology used in English literature, especially in the fields of dramaturgy and novel or book writing respectively. One is the way used by the writer to address his readers directly while the other is a portion of the story. You can see which is which when you read the article.
What is a Prologue?
Prologue is predominantly a term used in dramaturgy. It is a kind of dialogue that appears in the beginning of an act of a play or drama wherein two or three characters converse about the阴谋of the play and concerned matters. The purpose of a prologue is to enable the audience to get to know about the plot and the chief characters of the play.
Prologue is sometimes employed in散文写作也这样的小说。它出现在小说的开头,并对小说的故事和其他细节有一个想法。序言是为了将小说介绍给读者并使他们理解小说的情节而撰写。您会看到小说中通常使用序言,以使读者了解故事开始之前发生的事情。有时,作者使用序言来描述故事当前故事中发生的事情,因为故事以倒叙的序言开始。
What is a Preface?
On the other hand, a preface is a kind of介绍written by the author of a book. It contains matters related to the idea behind the writing of the book, the people who have helped him in the completion of the book, in matters related to typing, proofreading, and the like and finally his acknowledgements to such of those who have helped him in the completion of the project.
In the case of research works such as论文和论文writing, preface is very useful. That is in the sense that it gives an idea about facts such as what made the researcher choose the particular subject for research, people he has consulted for the study, information about the author of the primary book upon which the researcher has decided to write a thesis.
What is the difference between Prologue and Preface?
• Prologue is used in literature while preface is used in literature as well as in other subject areas such as in research.
• Prologue is placed before a novel or a drama starts. This gives an idea what to expect of the story. It is a part of the story.
•序言也在故事之前。但是,这不是故事的一部分。
• Prologue tells you what you need to know about the story. Usually, it contains a general introduction to the characters that will help you understand the story. A writer might include this to clear any historical detail that is necessary to understand the plot. However, sometimes, writers include a prologue just to intrigue a reader. This is because such types of prologues include a very startling part of the story that makes the reader excited to know how all incidents in the story came to have such an effect.
• Preface is included by the writer, to tell about the writing of the book, how he or she got the idea, to thank people who helped him or her, etc. Preface is a writer’s direct address to the reader about the process of writing the book they are about to read.
图像提供:The Defence of Duffer’s Drift, prologue和塞缪尔·沃德·斯坦顿(Samuel Ward Stanton)1895年的《美国蒸汽船的序言》通过Wikicommons(公共领域)
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