# Epilogue > A closing section after the main story has ended, often set later, that shows what became of the characters or the world. In a screenplay it often opens with a time super such as one year later. Also known as coda ## In practice An epilogue is a closing section that comes after the main story has ended: a scene, a speech or a passage of text that shows what happened next, ties off a loose thread or steps back to comment on the whole. Prospero's speech to the audience at the end of The Tempest is an epilogue. So is the "Nineteen Years Later" chapter that closes the Harry Potter books. For screenwriters, an epilogue is the material that follows the climax and resolution, often after a jump in time. It can show the characters' new lives, reveal a final twist or give the audience a last image to carry out of the theater. Films based on true stories often end with an epilogue in title cards that tells what became of the real people. The common mistake is adding an epilogue to explain what the ending already made clear. An epilogue works when it gives the audience something new, a release, an ironic turn or a glimpse of the future, rather than a summary. If the last scene of the story is strong enough to end on, an epilogue can weaken it. ## An epilogue in one scene and a card **A diner, a year after the heist** ``` EXT. ROADSIDE DINER - DAY SUPER: One year later. A booth by the window. RUTH (70s), retired safecracker, pays for three coffees with exact change. Only one cup has been touched. RUTH He always was late. She tucks a postcard under the third saucer, a beach none of them ever reached, and walks out into the sun. SUPER: Ruth Dawson was never charged. The money has never been found. FADE OUT. ``` The heist is over and its outcome already known, so the epilogue does something the climax could not: it shows the cost. The untouched cups tell us who did not make it, the postcard keeps a promise, and the final card adds an ironic last fact in the manner of true-crime films. It is short, quiet and new. ## What an epilogue is An epilogue is a concluding section of a play, book, poem or film that comes after the main action is complete. Merriam-Webster defines it as a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work, and also as a speech, often in verse, addressed to the audience by an actor at the end of a play. The word comes from the Greek epilogos, from epi, "in addition," and logos, "speech." In the theater, the epilogue was a speech delivered after the play, often asking the audience for applause or forgiveness. In novels it became a final chapter set apart from the rest, often years later, that shows how the characters' lives turned out. In film and television it is usually a short final scene or sequence after the resolution. An epilogue is the mirror of a prologue. Where a prologue stands before the story and prepares the audience for it, an epilogue stands after the story and helps the audience leave it. Many works have one and not the other. ## Epilogue examples Shakespeare's The Tempest ends with Prospero, having given up his magic, stepping forward alone to ask the audience to set him free with their applause. Rosalind speaks a playful epilogue at the end of As You Like It, and Puck closes A Midsummer Night's Dream by suggesting that the audience might have dreamed the whole play. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ends with "Nineteen Years Later," an epilogue on a train platform that shows the surviving characters as parents. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four ends with an appendix on Newspeak, written in the past tense, which some readers take as a hint that the Party eventually fell. Films use epilogues in many forms. Animal House and American Graffiti end with title cards revealing each character's future, a device later borrowed by countless comedies and true stories. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King follows the defeat of Sauron with a long epilogue in the Shire and at the Grey Havens, and Saving Private Ryan closes with the elderly Ryan at a military cemetery. ## Epilogue vs. denouement and afterword The denouement is the part of the story where the plot's threads are resolved after the climax. It belongs to the main story and usually follows directly from it. An epilogue comes after the denouement and is set apart from it, often by a jump in time, a change of place or a different voice. An afterword is written by the author, or someone else, about the work: how it was written, what it means, what happened since. It sits outside the story. An epilogue is part of the story, told within its world, even when it is spoken directly to the audience. A post-credits scene, or stinger, is a film epilogue placed after the end credits. Marvel films made them a habit, using them to set up future films. They work on the same principle as any epilogue but often aim at anticipation rather than closure. ## How to format an epilogue in a screenplay As with a prologue, a screenplay epilogue is usually written as ordinary scenes, with no heading that says EPILOGUE. Mark the jump in time with a SUPER such as SUPER: One year later, or let the setting and the characters' new circumstances make it clear. Title cards that tell what happened to the characters are written as SUPER or as centered text after the last scene, one fact per card. Keep them short; each card is on screen for only a few seconds, and the audience is reading against the music. A post-credits scene can be marked with a short note such as END CREDITS before the scene heading, so the reader knows where it plays. Keep it brief, and make sure the film's real ending does not depend on it, since many viewers leave before it appears. ## How to write an epilogue Ask what the audience still needs after the climax. Sometimes it is reassurance that the characters are all right; sometimes it is the cost of what happened, an ironic twist, or a sense of time passing. If the answer is nothing, end the film on its last strong scene. Show change, not summary. The best epilogues show the characters in a new situation that reflects what the story did to them. A single image, the empty seat, the grown child, the ring returned, can do more than a page of dialogue explaining how everyone feels. Keep it short and give it a final note. An epilogue should run a few pages at most in a feature, and end on an image or a line that resonates with the theme. Its last moment is the audience's last moment with the story, so make it count. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Oct 30, 2026 - [Merriam-Webster — Epilogue](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epilogue) ## Common questions ### What is an epilogue? An epilogue is a closing section that comes after the main story ends, showing what happened next or reflecting on the whole. Prospero's final speech in The Tempest and the "Nineteen Years Later" chapter of Harry Potter are epilogues. ### What is the purpose of an epilogue? An epilogue gives the audience closure, a look at the characters' futures, a final twist or a last reflection after the climax and resolution. A good epilogue adds something the ending alone could not. ### What is an example of an epilogue? The title cards at the end of American Graffiti and Animal House, which reveal each character's future, are classic film epilogues. In literature, the "Nineteen Years Later" chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a famous example. ### What is the difference between an epilogue and a denouement? The denouement resolves the plot right after the climax and belongs to the main story. An epilogue comes after the denouement, set apart by time, place or voice, and shows what happened later. ### Is an epilogue the same as an afterword? No. An epilogue is part of the story and told within its world. An afterword is written by the author, or someone else, about the work and sits outside the story. ### Do movies have epilogues? Yes. Many films end with an epilogue, such as a scene set later, title cards telling what became of the characters or a post-credits scene. Screenplays usually write them as ordinary scenes marked by a SUPER. ### How long should an epilogue be? In a feature screenplay, an epilogue is usually a page or two and rarely more than five. In a novel it is often a short final chapter. A long epilogue can drain the energy of the climax. ## Related terms - [Prologue](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/prologue): An opening section set apart from the main story, often in another time or place, that introduces background, a mystery or a threat before the story proper begins. - [Denouement](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/denouement): The final part of a story, after the climax, where the remaining questions are answered and the audience sees the characters' new normal. The word is French for untying: the knot the plot tied is finally undone. - [Falling action](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/falling-action): The part of a story after the climax and before the resolution, where the consequences of the climax play out, loose threads are tied and the tension eases toward the ending. - [Tag (TV)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/tag): A short closing scene after an episode's final act — often one last joke in a comedy, or a quiet beat or hook in a drama — labeled TAG in act-broken TV scripts. --- Canonical page: