Guide to Literary Terms | Apocalyptic

Apocalyptic - connected with revelation. The term is also used to describe literature that provides a prophecy or revelation. In contemporary usage, this refers to any literary selection that reveals and predicts the future. Usually, the term is used to refer to the coming of the end of the world and the expected final battle between good and evil.

The word is from the Greek apokalupsis, which means “unveiling,” and was originally derived from kaluptein, meaning “to cover.”

It is used as the title of the last book in The New Testament of the Bible: The Apocalypse or the Revelation of St. John the Divine. The final two books of Paradise Lost are apocalyptic, as the archangel Michael shows Adam how human history will climax in the final judgement of God.