Prologue

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In original Greek tragedy, the prologue is either the action or a set of introductory speeches before the first entry of the chorus. Here, a single actor's monologue or a dialogue between two actors would establish the play's background events. In later works, the prologue serves as explicit exposition introducing material before the first scene begins. The prologue is performed/delivered by the chorus. There are examples: A chorus gives a prologue with the background information as to the feud between the families in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Tom, one of the protagonists in William's A Glass Menagerie gives a prologue both of the background of the play and the character's philosophy.

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