A book can be divided into chapters.
A chapter is a division made in a book or other type of written document to facilitate reading and the order and integration of the contents. The term has its origin in the Latin word capitulum .
For example: "As soon as I finish reading the book, I'll lend it to you: there are fourteen chapters and I'm on the eighth" , "The latest novel by this author bored me and I abandoned it after the fourth chapter" , "The chapter about the captain's death fascinated me" .
Chapters of a book
Each chapter, therefore, represents a part or section within a work of a certain length (if the work is very short, division into chapters is not justified). The length of the chapters varies according to the intentions and needs of the author and the work. In fact, within the same book, for example, the length of each chapter can differ considerably from the rest.
Authors often number chapters in the order in which they appear: Chapter 1 is followed by Chapter 2 , and so on. Some chapters are not numbered and are considered a separate subdivision (the introduction, the epilogue , etc.). Some writers, on the other hand, do not number chapters, but instead give each one a title .
In some regions, chapter is used as a synonym for episode when referring to television series.
TV episodes
The notion of chapter can also be used in other types of works that go beyond written material. Television series , whether soap operas, comedies or otherwise, can be divided into chapters: "Did you see the last chapter of the soap opera? Dr. Romerson kidnapped Mary and took her to his house in the mountains" , "There are three chapters left until the end of the soap opera that has conquered Brazilians" .
In some Spanish-speaking regions, this term is used as a synonym for episode when referring to television series, although both words should be understood in this context. A work divided into episodes can be described as episodic , and this classification is widely used in the field of video games, especially those that are distributed digitally; the market for downloadable titles represents a considerable saving of resources for a developer, and dividing a project into several installments can help improve future content through the feedback each one receives.
Terms related to the concept of chapter
Within the family of terms chapter is the verb recapitulate , which can be defined as remembering in an orderly manner what has been expressed in writing or orally. It is a word from formal language, not very used in everyday speech. If we delve into its etymology, we discover that it is possible to distinguish three lexical components from Latin: re (which indicates a reiteration, a journey backwards), caput (which translates as head) and -tion (a suffix associated with actions and effects).
In this way, we obtain a term that speaks of going back, to the beginning of something, to an important point in time; in its Latin version, its approximate meaning is to remember a pact or agreement. This brings us to the verb capitular, which indicates the creation of a pact or agreement by a group of individuals. Continuing with this analysis in the opposite direction, the word chapter is formed from caput and the suffix -ulum , used for the construction of diminutives.
In its etymological sense, chapter refers to the distribution of command , to the division of power, of the most important part (the head). It is possible, then, to understand that today it is associated with the division of an artistic work or a document into ordered and coherent fragments.