Question

What is the prologue of a book and how long is it supposed to be? Can it be 1-2 paragraphs long?

Answer 1

Hint: Some works of literature start with a brief introduction of the story which gives a peek into the literary work, it is called prologue (pronounced PRO-log), which is a short introductory section that gives background information or prepares the readers for the story to come. The prologue is usually pretty short, maybe a few pages or even a few paragraphs, it depends on the length of the entire story.But it may turn out to be the most vital part of the story, and if readers skip it they may be lost for the entire story.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss the prologue a little more to find out the answer. The writing of a prologue must always read like a story. In fact, it should be a story. The reason that you would include a story in the prologue is because the story doesn’t align with the timeframe that the rest of the book is in. While the story won’t fit in the time frame, it is important that the readers can have a short glimpse of what is inside to decide whether it is worth their time or not. Generally, in a prologue, the last few sentences do the task of addressing the specific problem rather than just storytelling and at times it even directly addresses the reader.

Note: A prologue is mainly necessary to make an impression that would hinder the narrative if present in the body of the novel. Let us just say “you can judge a book by it’s cover”, or “an appetiser”: if done right, it can perfectly prepare you for the main course. If not, it can ruin your appetite for the novel.