Analepsis
is a form of anachrony by which some of the events of a story are
related at a point in the narrative after later storyevents have already been
recounted. Commonly referred to as retrospection or flashback, analepsis
enables a storyteller to fill in background information about characters and
events. A narrative that begins in medias res will include an analeptic
account of events preceding the point at which the tale began. See also
prolepsis.