Meaning & use
analepsis
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Meaning
nouncountablespecialistliterary
A scene in a story that shows events from an earlier time than the main narrative.
Grammar: Countable and technical: use 'an analepsis' or 'analepses' in academic writing about narrative.
Patterns
- an analepsis in a novel
- use analepsis
- a brief analepsis
The novel opens with an analepsis set twenty years earlier.
The film uses analepsis to reveal the character's childhood.
Critics praised the director's skillful use of analepsis.
Word forms
| plural | analepses |
|---|
Common combinations
- use of analepsis
- Her use of analepsis gives the story a haunting depth.
- a brief analepsis
- A brief analepsis explains why he left home.
- an analepsis in the narrative
- The analepsis in the narrative interrupts the trial scene.
- a series of analepses
- The second chapter is built from a series of analepses.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flashback
- 'Flashback' is the everyday word for the same device; 'analepsis' belongs to formal literary criticism.
- retrospection
- 'Retrospection' means looking back in thought, often by a narrator, and is less tied to a specific scene.
Opposites
Word family
- prolepsis noun
- The opposite device: a jump forward to future events in a story.
- analeptic adjective
- Relating to or using analepsis.
Commonly confused: analepsis or analysis? analepsis or epilepsy?
analepsis vs analysis
'Analysis' means a detailed examination of something; 'analepsis' sounds similar but is a narrative jump back in time.
analepsis vs epilepsy
'Epilepsy' is a medical condition; the ending sounds alike but the words are unrelated.
Practice
In film studies, a scene that jumps back to show earlier events is called ___.
Choose one answer.
'Analepsis' is the formal term for moving backward in time. 'Prolepsis' is the opposite (a jump forward), 'analysis' means examination, and 'synopsis' is a summary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “analepsis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.