Paralogue is a lesser-known literary term that refers to a speech or section of dialogue that is beside the main point—that is, it digresses from the central topic or argument but still adds color, character insight, or emotional depth to the text.
✅ Definition: A digressive or tangential speech in literature or rhetoric that departs from the main narrative or argument.
✅ Example:
In Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Captain Ahab sometimes goes off on long philosophical musings about fate and existence—these speeches do not directly advance the plot of hunting the whale, but they serve as paralogues, enriching the novel’s themes of obsession and destiny.
Another example:
In a political speech, if a speaker pauses mid-argument to tell a personal story that loosely connects to the topic but mainly reveals emotion or character, that’s a paralogue.
And there it is! Now go ahead and use paralogue in your CXC prep/CSEC prep.
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