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Bathos - Examples and Definition of Bathos

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Literary DevicesDefinition and Examples of Literary TermsMain menuSkip to contentFull List of Literary DevicesGrammatical TermsPoem AnalysisBook Literary AnalysisPhrase AnalysisWhat are Literary DevicesLiterary ResourcesCitationBathosDefinition of BathosBathos is a literary term derived from a Greek word meaning “depth.” Bathos is the act of a writer or a poet falling into inconsequential and absurd metaphors, descriptions, or ideas in an effort to be increasingly emotional or passionate.Some confuse bathos with “pathos.” The term was used by Alexander Pope to explain the blunders committed inadvertently by unskilled writers or poets. However, later on, comic writers used it intentionally to create humorous effects. The most commonly used bathos involves a sequence of items that descend from worthiness to silliness.Examples of Bathos in LiteratureExample #1: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (By James L. Brooks and Allan Burns)The Mary Tyler Moore Show had an episode that involved the death of the clown Chuckles, who was killed very brutally by a stampeding elephant. Everyone on the station keeps making jokes about it that Mary does not approve of. Later on, when she attends the funeral, she starts laughing hysterically while the rest of the people stare at her exasperated.Example #2: The Naked Gun (By David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, Pat Proft)Absurd styles of humor can use the bathos method. Such is the television series Police Squad!, which uses bathos very often. Excerpts from The Naked Gun show numerous points where a serious scenario is built up only to knock it down subsequently with Frank Drebin’s silly comments. For example:FRANK: “A good cop – pointlessly cut down by some spineless hoodlums.”ED: “That’s no way for a man to die.”FRANK: “No … you’re right, Ed. A parachute not opening … that’s a way to die, getting caught in the gears of a combine … having your nuts bit off by a Laplander, that’s the way I want to go!”WILMA NORDBERG: “Oh … Frank. This is terrible!”ED: “Don’t you worry, Wilma. Your husband is going to be alright. Don’t you worry about anything! Just think positive. Never let a doubt enter your mind.”FRANK: “He’s right, Wilma. But I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to fill out those organ donor cards.” (The Naked Gun, 1988)Example #3: Northanger Abbey (By Jane Austen)Jane Austen is among the few serious writers who used this tool. It helped her give a sense of merriness to her novel Northanger Abbey. In this novel, Austen highlights the ingenuous and imaginative nature of the leading character, Catherine Morland. She uses Catherine’s increasingly active imagination to work like bathos in order to parody the plot used in Ann Radcliffe’s Gothic novels, and the likes of her.In Radcliff’s The Romance of the Forest, a character finds a human skeleton in the chest. In Northanger Abbey, Austen uses a mysterious chest in her story as a prop to build on, and to successfully satirize the extremes of the Gothic fiction of the 18th century.Catherine became skeptical when she saw the enormous chest in her room during her stay at the Abbey. Certain questions arose in her mind about that chest, and about what it held, and why it was placed in her room. Catherine, who seemed to be very naïve, went on investigating the chest.You can see that the novel at this particular point adopts a very gothic tone. It starts using short clauses that consist of many inauspicious words, for instance “trembling hands,” “alarming violence,” and “fearful curiosity.” The selection of words at this point aids in building up the suspense in the readers’ and audience’s minds, only to discover consequently that the chest holds only a folded bed sheet.Example #4: I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again (BBC Radio Comedy)The British radio series I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again also provides us with many bathos examples. John Cleese and Jo Kendall appeared in the roles of a couple whose relationship is on the brink of failure.MARY: “John – once we had something that was pure, and wonderful, and good. What’s happened to it?”JOHN: “You spent it all.”When Mary says “something pure and wonderful,” she is actually referring to the deep, sacred, noble form of love. However, the description is vague enough for John to manipulate.Function of BathosBathos is a device which, if used skillfully, can really build up a nice comic scene. Bathos brings a certain degree of wit to a scene by highlighting the contrast in tone. Initially, it is used to create a serious and powerful dramatic situation. This might be slightly hard to create for comedy writers. Thus, comedy writers must be very careful when they insert jokes here and there in the middle of a serious scene. There is a great danger that their jokes will break the tempo of a serious scene in a prose.Post navigation← EpiphoraCaricature →Search for:

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1Alexander Pope's definition

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1.1The Art of Sinking in Poetry

1.2Subsequent evolution

1.317th and 18th centuries

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Term of literary criticism or of rhetorical technique

For other uses, see Bathos (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with pathos, a successful arousal of sympathy and pity.

Bathos (UK: /ˈbeɪθɒs/ BAY-thoss;[1] Greek: βάθος, lit. "depth") is a literary term, first used in this sense in Alexander Pope's 1727 essay "Peri Bathous",[1] to describe an amusingly failed attempt at presenting artistic greatness. Bathos has come to refer to rhetorical anticlimax, an abrupt transition from a lofty style or grand topic to a common or vulgar one, occurring either accidentally (through artistic ineptitude) or intentionally (for comic effect).[2][3] Intentional bathos appears in satirical genres such as burlesque and mock epic. "Bathos" or "bathetic" is also used for similar effects in other branches of the arts, such as musical passages marked ridicolosamente. In film, bathos may appear in a contrast cut intended for comic relief or be produced by an accidental jump cut.

Alexander Pope's definition[edit]

The Art of Sinking in Poetry[edit]

Main article: Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry

As a term for the combination of the very high with the very low, bathos was introduced by Alexander Pope in his essay Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry (1727). On the one hand, Pope's work is a parody in prose of Longinus's Peri Hupsous (On the Sublime), in that he imitates Longinus's system for the purpose of ridiculing contemporary poets, but, on the other, it is a blow Pope struck in an ongoing struggle against the "dunces."

The nearest model for Pope's essay is the Treatise of the Sublime by Boileau of 1712. Pope admired Boileau, but one of Pope's literary adversaries, Leonard Welsted, had issued a "translation" of Longinus in 1726 that was merely a translation of Boileau. Because Welsted and Pope's other foes were championing this "sublime", Pope commented upon and countered their system with his Peri Bathos in the Swift-Pope-Gay-Arbuthnot Miscellanies. Whereas Boileau had offered a detailed discussion of all the ways in which poetry could ascend or be "awe-inspiring", Pope offers a lengthy schematic of the ways in which authors might "sink" in poetry, satirizing the very men who were allied with Ambrose Philips. Pope and Philips had been adversaries since the publication of Pope's Odes, and the rivalry broke down along political lines. According to Pope, bathos can be most readily applicable to love making after two years of marriage which is clearly in binary opposition to the sublime but is no less political. Edmund Burke was believed to be particularly charmed by Pope's articulation of love after marriage, inspiring Burke's essay A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1756).

One example of Pope's style and satire shows in his description of sinking in painting. In the commonplace Academic hierarchic ranking of pictorial genres, still life ranked the lowest. However, Pope describes how it might fall and, with the single word "stiffen", evokes the unnatural deadness that is a mark of failure even in this "low" genre:

Many Painters who could never hit a Nose or an Eye, have with Felicity copied a Small-Pox, or been admirable at a Toad or a Red-Herring. And seldom are we without Genius's for Still Life, which they can work up and stiffen with incredible Accuracy. ("Peri Bathous" vi).

In chapters X and XI, Pope explains the comic use of the tropes and figures of speech.[4]

Although Pope's manual of bad verse offers numerous methods for writing poorly, of all these ways to "sink", the method that is most remembered now is the act of combining very serious matters with very trivial ones. The radical juxtaposition of the serious with the frivolous does two things. First, it violates decorum, or the fittingness of subject, and, second, it creates humor with an unexpected and improper juxtaposition.

Subsequent evolution[edit]

Since Pope's day, the term "bathos", perhaps because of confusion with "pathos", has been used for art forms, and sometimes events, where something is so pathetic as to be humorous.

When artists consciously mix the very serious with the very trivial, the effect is of surreal humour and the absurd. However, when an artist is unconscious of the juxtaposition (e.g., when a film maker means for a man in a gorilla suit with a diving helmet to be frightening), the result is bathos.

Arguably, some forms of kitsch (notably the replication of serious or sublime subjects in a trivial context, like tea-towels with prints of DaVinci's Last Supper on them or hand guns that are actually cigarette lighters) express bathos in the concrete arts.

A tolerant but detached enjoyment of the aesthetic characteristics that are inherent in naïve, unconscious and honest bathos is an element of the camp sensibility, as first analyzed by Susan Sontag, in a 1964 essay "Notes on camp".[5]

17th and 18th centuries[edit]

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Hogarth's The Bathos

Bathos as Pope described it may be found in a grandly rising thought that punctures itself: Pope offers one "Master of a Show in Smithfield, who wrote in large Letters, over the Picture of his Elephant:

"This is the greatest Elephant in the World, except Himself."

Several decades before Pope coined the term, John Dryden had described one of the breath-taking and magically extravagant settings for his Restoration spectacular, Albion and Albanius (1684–85):

"The cave of Proteus rises out of the sea, it consists of several arches of rock work, adorned with mother of pearl, coral, and abundance of shells of various kinds. Through the arches is seen the sea, and parts of Dover pier."

Pope himself employed this type of figure intentionally for humor in his mock-heroic Rape of the Lock, where a lady would be upset at the death of a lover "or lapdog". Søren Kierkegaard, in The Sickness Unto Death, did the same thing, when he suggested that the "self" is easy to lose and that the loss of "an arm, a leg, a dog, or a wife" would be more grievous. When intended, this is a form of satire or the literary figure of undercutting. When the context demands a lofty, serious, or grand interpretation, however, the effect is bathos.

In 1764, William Hogarth published his last engraving, The Bathos, or the Manner of Sinking in Sublime Paintings inscribed to Dealers in Dark Pictures, depicting Father Time lying exhausted in a scene of destruction, parodying the fashion at that time for "sublime" works of art, and satirising criticisms made of Hogarth's own works. It may also be seen as a vanitas or memento mori, foreshadowing Hogarth's death six months later. Headed Tail Piece, it was intended as the tailpiece for a bound edition of Hogarth's engravings.

Bathos Examples and Definition - Literary Devices

Bathos Examples and Definition - Literary DevicesLiterary DevicesLiterary Devices, Terms, and ElementsHomeList of Literary DevicesCitationSearch for:

Popular Literary DevicesToneGenreDictionDiscourseJuxtapositionImagerySynecdocheSonnetOxymoronDramatic IronyColloquialismMetaphorAllegoryKenningDialectConsonanceSimileDenouementConceitDramaDidacticismParadoxMetonymyUnderstatementDialogueCadenceProseCaricatureClimaxInversionComparisonClaimCaesuraComedyDoppelgängerElegyRed HerringAssonanceConflictChiasmusCacophonyCoupletDactylMeiosisParableCharacterizationFree VerseClichéEuphonyVillanelleEpigraphFlashbackFoilIronySyntaxThemeAlliterationRhetorical QuestionPunEnjambmentIdiomCatharsisVerbal IronyVerseContrastPasticheConnotationEllipsisEuphemismFallacyAntithesisSatireAntimetabolePolysyndetonAntiheroSoliloquySyllogismAnecdoteFigurative LanguageAntanaclasisDystopiaIntertextualityTrimeterPoemAporiaParataxisTropeZoomorphismAllusionDenotationEpistropheHyperboleSarcasmOnomatopoeiaRepetitionParallelismApostropheAphorismMotifStanzaBathosDefinition of BathosBathos is a sudden change of tone in a work of writing, usually from the sublime to the ridiculous. This may be done unintentionally, and creates a sappy, overly sentimental effect that is a mark of amateur writing. On the other hand, it can be done knowingly and for comedic effect, and is found in many skits and jokes in the way that it turns expectations around.Alexander Pope created the term bathos in 1727 originally to criticize bad novelists and poets. The word bathos comes from the Greek word for “depth,” and Pope used this meaning both ironically and to imply a sense of the author “sinking” by using such ridiculous lines. The definition of bathos that he gave then was of attempts at appealing to the reader’s or audience’s emotions (i.e., pathos), but failing at creating a sense of the sublime to such an extent that the attempt becomes amusing. Bathos also has a sense of anticlimax because the reader expects a certain tone to continue—especially a lofty or grandiose tone—which quickly is replaced with a vulgar or common tone. There is improper juxtaposition involved in bathetic passages between the serious and the trivial.Common Examples of BathosThere are many examples of bathos in comedy, such as in the following skit from the famous British comedy troupe, Monty Python:Bridgekeeper: Stop. Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.Sir Lancelot: Ask me the questions, bridgekeeper. I am not afraid.Bridgekeeper: What… is your name?Sir Lancelot: My name is Sir Lancelot of Camelot.Bridgekeeper: What… is your quest?Sir Lancelot: To seek the Holy Grail.Bridgekeeper: What… is your favourite colour?Sir Lancelot: Blue.Bridgekeeper: Go on. Off you go.Sir Lancelot: Oh, thank you. Thank you very much.(Monty Python and the Holy Grail)There are also numerous examples of bathos in any beginning creative writing class. There is now a contest for deliberately bad writing called the Buller-Lytton Fiction Contest, named for the man who composed the notorious opening line, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Many of the winning lines of this contest, now over three decades in existence, are examples of bathos. Here are some recent winning lines:Seeing how the victim’s body, or what remained of it, was wedged between the grill of the Peterbilt 389 and the bumper of the 2008 Cadillac Escalade EXT, officer “Dirk” Dirksen wondered why reporters always used the phrase “sandwiched” to describe such a scene since there was nothing appetizing about it, but still, he thought, they might have a point because some of this would probably end up on the front of his shirt.For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity’s affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss – a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity’s mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world’s thirstiest gerbil.Through the verdant plains of North Umbria walked Waylon Ogglethorpe and, as he walked, the clouds whispered his name, the birds of the air sang his praises, and the beasts of the fields from smallest to greatest said, “There goes the most noble among men” – in other words, a typical stroll for a schizophrenic ventriloquist with delusions of grandeur.♦♦♦Significance of Bathos in LiteratureGenerally, authors try to stay away from creating bathetic lines in their writing, unless they are for comedic effect. When Alexander Pope created the term bathos in his short essay “Peri Bathous,” he meant to ridicule other poets of his time. Some authors use bathos to knowingly mock other writers who take themselves too seriously. Even Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130,” which begins with the famous line “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” is meant to ridicule other love poetry that compares lovers to ridiculously grandiose things.Bathos has risen in popularity as a comedic device in the centuries since Alexander Pope described it as a mark of bad writing. There is a certain light sarcasm that some authors use when intentionally using a bathetic style, because there is an aspect of ridicule and irony involved.Examples of Bathos in LiteratureExample #1Then the third night after this,While Enoch slumber’d motionless and pale,And Miriam watch’d and dozed at intervals,There came so loud a calling of the sea,That all the houses in the haven rang.He woke, he rose, he spread his arms abroadCrying with a loud voice `a sail! a sail!I am saved’; and so fell back and spoke no more.So past the strong heroic soul away.And when they buried him the little portHad seldom seen a costlier funeral.(“Enoch Arden” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson)Many people dislike the ending of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s long narrative poem “Enoch Arden” precisely because it is an example of bathos. The poem has more than five dozen stanzas, and tells the story of a merchant sailor named Enoch Arden who leaves his family for work, is shipwrecked, and believed dead for a decade. When he finally returns he finds that his wife has married his childhood rival, and Enoch dies of a broken heart. Though the poem is serious throughout all sixty five stanzas, and told through a serious tone, the very final three-line stanza reduces the sentimentality completely by referencing the cost of Enoch’s funeral. Unfortunately, this one final line provides such an anticlimax as to almost negate the entire rest of the poem.Example #2“Prostitution is bad! Everybody knows that, even him.” He turned with confidence to experienced old man. “Am I right?”“You’re wrong,” answered the old man. “Prostitution gives her an opportunity to meet people. It provides fresh air and wholesome exercise, and it keeps her out of trouble.”(Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)Joseph Heller is an expert at subverting his reading audience’s expectations, and he does so many times over in his masterpiece Catch-22. The whole novel is about the absurdity of war, and Heller deals with this theme by creating absurd situations and conversations that only have logic within the book itself. In the above bathos example, the character Nately is trying to get an old Italian man to agree with him about prostitution being a bad thing. The old man disagrees, using the absurd argument that the woman can meet people and get “wholesome” exercise through her profession.Example #3His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel… or something.(Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James)There are numerous bathos examples in the wildly popular series Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. The fact that the writing is also wildly amateur has apparently done nothing to detract from its success. In fact, this is a part of its infamy. In the above quote, the protagonist Ana thinks about her love interest Christian, describing his voice in a romantic way. And then the sentence ends in “or something,” immediately replacing the sense of adoration and wonder with a ridiculous insecurity. It is difficult to take the sentiments in the book seriously since they are so often followed by colloquialisms that make the tone ridiculous.♦♦♦Test Your Knowledge of Bathos1. Which of the following statements is the best bathos definition?A. A line that appeals to the emotions of the reader.B. A shift in tone, usually from lofty to ridiculous, that produces a sense of anticlimax.C. The use of aquatic imagery.Answer to Question #1ShowAnswer: B is the correct answer.2. Which of the following lines from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is not an example of bathos?A. The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous, and likable. In three days no one could stand him.B. Doc Daneeka was Yossarian’s friend and would do just about nothing in his power to help him.C. Milo looked at Yossarian with profound emotion. “That’s what I like about you,” he exclaimed. “You’re honest! You’re the only one I know that I can really trust.”Answer to Question #2ShowAnswer: C is the correct answer. The first two sentences completely and expertly shift the reader’s expectations in a matter of a just a few words. C is the only genuine sentence from beginning to end.3. Why might an author intentionally use bathos in his or her writing?A. To produce a comedic effect.B. To get the reader to feel strong emotions.C. To show off how good of a writer he or she is.Answer to Question #3ShowAnswer: A is the correct answer.Terms and ConditionsCitationPrivacy PolicyCont

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Bathos

bay-thos

Bathos is defined as a sudden, jolting change in the tone of a work. This could occur in a poem, play, story, or film.

E.g. In 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' Douglas Adams artfully employs bathos, shifting from profound existential questions to whimsically trivial musings like the significance of people wearing digital watches, highlighting the novel's satirical charm.

Related terms: Climax, satire, irony, parody, burlesque

The change is from the poetic to the mundane or from the sublime to the absurd. It is done intentionally or unintentionally by writers of all skill levels.

If used on accident it can result in a displeasing transition from one mode of thought or speech to the next. Lines might come across as over the top or overwrought and then immediately return to basic, forgettable description or dialogue.

If a writer uses bathos purposefully it is usually for comedic effect. It can turn what is a dramatic-seeming moment into something humorous, perhaps even creating a kind of commentary on the larger narrative that’s playing out. This technique is, contemporaneously, found in skits, jokes, and comedic scenes and movies.

Explore the term 'Bathos'1 History of Bathos 2 Purpose of Bathos 3 Examples of Bathos in Literature

History of Bathos

The term bathos was created in 1727 within Alexander Pope’s essay “Peri Bathous”. It was used to describe an amusing and failed attempt at creating something that was, or felt, artistically great or successful.

Bathos has appeared in genres like burlesque and mock-epic as well as in more contemporary comedic stories.

The word “bathos” comes from the Greek word meaning “depth”. Pope was very aware of this fact and used it to his advantage. He used it to reference the depths to which a writer will go to try to impress or control the audience, allowing themselves to use terrible lines within their works. He also used it to refer to attempts at appealing to the depths of a reader’s or audience member’s emotions.

Purpose of Bathos

Bathos has been used over the last centuries to criticize writers for their mediocre attempts at creating drama or purposefully in order to cut the tension from a dramatic scene for comic effect. It has become more popular in recent decades as a way to bring light to what could be a tense scene and remind the reader or observer of a film that the characters are real, fallible, and liable to make mistakes.

Examples of Bathos in Literature

Example #1 Enoch Arden by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

One of the best known and most commonly cited examples of bathos comes from Tennyson’s narrative poem ‘Enoch Arden’. It is a long poem and is often criticized for its ending. A reader has to determine whether or not Tennyson made the choices he did willing to accept the criticism, or if the poet laureate made a mistake in how he concluded the poem.

The work tells the story of a sailor, Enoch Arden, who for ten years is believed to be dead by his family. He was in a shipwreck and when he finally gets home is horrified to learn that his family has moved on. His wife is remarried to a rival form his childhood and due to the strain of this turn of events, he dies of a broken heart. The final tercet has become a famous example of bathos. It reads:

So past the strong heroic soul away.

And when they buried him the little port

Had seldom seen a costlier funeral.

The tragic loss and drama are brought to a screeching halt by talk of the cost of his funeral. It brings the reader back into the real world. The events stop being romanticized and one is reminded of a real fact of life.

Example #2 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Another well-known example of bathos comes from Joseph Heller’s seminal work Catch-22. It is set during World War II and follows the life of an airforce captain named John Yossarian. The novel explores the absurd nature of war and the difficulty that Yossarian and his comrades have in mentally processing everything that happens to them.

Here is one of several examples of bathos:

“Prostitution is bad! Everybody knows that, even him.” He turned with confidence to experienced old man. “Am I right?”

“You’re wrong,” answered the old man. “Prostitution gives her an opportunity to meet people. It provides fresh air and wholesome exercise, and it keeps her out of trouble.”

In these lines, a reader is exposed to a discussion about prostitution. The first speaker, Nately, is engaging an old man on the topic. The old man uses a humorous and traditional Heller-like argument that prostitution is not bad because women can keep “out of trouble” and get “wholesome exercise”.

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Meaning of bathos in English

bathosnoun [ U ]

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/ˈbeɪ.θɑːs/

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a sudden change from a beautiful or important subject to a silly or very ordinary one, especially when this is not intended

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Examples from literature

He resolved to build a play not on pathos, but on bathos. Life is full of bathos as well as pathos. The closing words of the speech approached dangerously near to bathos. The plot shows none of those alarming pieces of incongruity and bathos which have marred some of her stories. This is bathos that unfortunately goes too far.

(Definition of bathos from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of bathos

bathos

Ordinarily, such sequences produce only bathos when their final terms are so incongruously weighty (and, as in the case of "sacrilege," imperfectly rhymed).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is bathos in the movement of language to the moralism of capitalist 'evils'.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

What is more, they were accomplished manipulators of pathos and bathos.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

To take on a service after the war, when there is a sort of bathos, a sort of backwash, is difficult.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

I refer to dogs on allotments—possibly a bathos after what we have been discussing.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

I knew there was a touch of bathos at the end.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Let us take his complaint, expressed in very strong language, and with a good deal of bathos, which seemed to me rather inappropriate to the situation.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Then, in the end, all was bathos.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

The result, of course, is bathos.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

It really was the most terrible bathos, when we think of the magnitude of this problem, to be told that we are to have a half-time controller-designate.

From the Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Self-referential humor expressed discreetly and surrealistically is a form of bathos.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

Furphy employs both pathos and bathos and the narration teases the reader with its tangents, like a shaggy dog story.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

The dispute flared up again, to end on a note of bathos.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

The contrast between reality, delusion, and self-delusion was a form of bathos that made the audience think of other grand-speaking and grandly spoken of people.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

Even when representing weakness and suffering, he knew how to maintain the correct tone, without bathos.

From Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of bathos?

Translations of bathos

in Chinese (Traditional)

（修辭）突降法（指美好、莊重的內容突然變得平庸可笑的修辭手法）…

in Chinese (Simplified)

（修辞）突降法（指美好、庄重的内容突然变得平庸可笑的修辞手法）…

in Spanish

paso de lo sublime a lo prosaico y trivial…

in Portuguese

passagem do sério ao ridículo…

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Bathos: Definition and Examples

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Bathos: Definition and Examples

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English

English Grammar

An Introduction to Punctuation

Writing

Richard Nordquist

English and Rhetoric Professor

Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia

M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester

B.A., English, State University of New York

Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.

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Updated on January 27, 2020

Bathos is an insincere and/or excessively sentimental demonstration of pathos. The adjective is bathetic.

The term bathos may also refer to an abrupt and often ludicrous transition in style from the elevated to the ordinary.

As a critical term, bathos was first used in English by poet Alexander Pope in his satirical essay "On Bathos: Of the Art of Sinking in Poetry" (1727). In the essay, Pope solemnly assures his readers that he intends "to lead them as it were by the hand . . . the gentle downhill way to Bathos; the bottom, the end, the central point, the non plus ultra of true modern poesy."

Etymology

From the Greek, "depth."

Examples and Observations

Jerome Stern: Bathos . . . is a negative term used when writers have tried so hard to make their readers cry—loading misery on sadness—that their work seems contrived, silly, and unintentionally funny. Soap opera has that effect when you read a synopsis of all the complexities that beset people in a single episode.

Christopher Hitchens: True bathos requires a slight interval between the sublime and the ridiculous.

William McGonagall: It must have been an awful sight,To witness in the dusky moonlight,While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,I must now conclude my layBy telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,That your central girders would not have given way,At least many sensible men do say,Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,At least many sensible men confesses,For the stronger we our houses do build,The less chance we have of being killed.

Patricia Waugh: If it were known . . . that William McGonagall intended his bathetic doggerel 'The Tay Bridge Disaster' to be a parody of sentimental poetry—i.e. to be deliberately bad and exaggerated—the work might be reassessed as witty and amusing. The argument might be that only when we know what kind of work it is intended to be, can we evaluate.

Richard M. Nixon: I should say this—that Pat doesn't have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat. And I always tell her that she'd look good in anything. One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don't they'll probably be saying this about me too. We did get something—a gift—after the election. A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was? It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl—Tricia, the six-year-old—named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.

Paula LaRocque: Bathos presents a victim in maudlin, sentimental, and melodramatic action. . . . Bathos presents gratuitous moralizing, but there is nothing to learn and no dimension. It was popular at the height (some would say the depth) of Victoriana but is out of fashion and repellent to modern audiences. Bathos still exists in the melodramatic potboiler, but for the most part, modern readers don't want a story 'milked' or moralized. They want it told with restraint, clarity, and artistry, and they want to make their own judgment and interpretation.

D.B. Wyndham Lewis and Charles Lee: O Moon, when I gaze on thy beautiful face,Careering along through the boundaries of space,The thought has often come into my mindIf I shall ever see thy glorious behind.

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Bathos: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms

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Bathos

Definition & Examples

When & How to Write a Bathos Quiz

I. What is Bathos?

Her hair was finely curled, her cheeks were lined with rouge, and her dress was a flowing green and blue which made her look rather like a tired, old peacock.

The previous sentence is an example of bathos: an abrupt turn from the serious and poetic to the regular and silly. Rather than likening the woman to a beautiful bird, she is compared, surprisingly, to a tired, old peacock.

II. Examples of Bathos

Example 1

He spent his final hour of life doing what he loved most: arguing with his wife.

Whereas the description of someone’s final hours is usually respectful and solemn, this one is surprisingly and unexpected humorous due to bathos.

Example 2

After training for the entire year and successfully running his first marathon, Ben was desperate, nearly insane, for a saturated fat-filled chocolate bar.

Expected needs would include water and food, but the urge for junk food is surprising in a star athlete.

Example 3

She urged her friend to reconsider her decision, as she could be making a huge mistake wearing a green, short dress rather than a long, red dress.

Serious, life-changing decisions usually do not concern wardrobe changes, but a sentence using bathos does.

III. The Importance of Bathos

Bathos, when unintentional, shows how easily serious scenes and subjects can be undermined by poor writing as the serious tone turns into a ridiculous and hilarious tone. When intentional, it shows just how funny it is when such serious scenes are abruptly interrupted by unexpected and silly subjects or circumstances. Typically, serious moments are separated from comedic moments. When they are combined through bathos, the sudden change in tone surprises the audience with the unexpected comedic touch.

IV. Examples of Bathos in Literature

Bathos provides literature with a comedic touch when serious scenes twist into something unexpectedly funny.

Example 1

Alexander Pope, critic who coined the term bathos, uses the device in his poem The Rape of the Lock:

Not louder Shrieks to pitying Heav’n are cast,

When Husbands or when Lap-dogs breath their last.

Hilariously, Pope places lap-dogs and husbands on the same level for the sadness they cause when they die.

Example 2

For more modern examples of bathos in literature, consider the following quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

You know,” said Arthur, “it’s at times like this, when I’m trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young.

“Why, what did she tell you?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t listen.”

In this scene, an extremely emotional moment just before a man’s death turns comedic when he cannot remember his mother’s advice he so wishes he’d paid attention to.

The Answer to the Great Question… Of Life, the Universe and Everything… Is… Forty-two,‘ said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

In this scene, the meaning of life, one of the most serious questions of all, is found to be something as seemingly trivial as the number forty-two!

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.

In this last example, the expectation is, naturally, something will happen. Instead, nothing continues to happen in a surprising and comedic use of bathos.

V. Examples of Bathos in Pop Culture

Example 1

Cast Away (4/5) Movie CLIP - I'm Sorry, Wilson! (2000) HDWatch this video on YouTube

The protagonist of the movie Cast Away, Chuck, creates an example of unintentional bathos when he emotionally breaks down after he loses what has been his only friend while stranded on an island: a Wilson brand volleyball. Although this scene is meant to be emotionally compelling, it is somewhat hilarious in that such despair is spent over a volleyball rather than a real person. As film critics would say, how bathetic!

Example 2

For a second example, Steve Mobbs (a reference to Steve Jobs) shows Lisa Simpson the meaning of “Think Differently”:

Lisa: Mr. Mobbs, I sort of downloaded too many songs onto my MyPod and I don’t have the money to pay for them. Do you think you could consider a reduced payment plan?

Steve Mobbs: I’m sorry. I know our posters say ‘Think differently,’ but our real slogan is ‘No refunds’.

Lisa: [tearfully] Can’t you open your Mapple menu and click on the compassion bar? Oh, please.

Steve Mobbs: Lisa, how would you like to work for Mapple?

Lisa: [perking up] Would I ever!

[The scene shifts to a busy street corner. Lisa is wearing a MyPod costume and handing out flyers to passersby.]

Lisa: [bland and bored] Think differently. Think differently. Think differently. [sighs] Think differently.

The Simpsons - Think DifferentlyWatch this video on YouTube

This is an emotional scene: Lisa Simpson is in tears when she is offered a job by a technological genius. That job, unfortunately, is to hand out flyers in a MyPod outfit.

VI. Related Terms

Anticlimax

Like bathos, anticlimax results in a change in tone from serious to random or trivial. Opposite to climax which is expected to be dramatic and exciting, an anticlimax is disappointing and boring. Anticlimax and bathos are considered by many to be synonyms. There are a few differences between bathos and anticlimax, though. For one, bathos can happen any time in a narrative, whereas anticlimax happens when a climax is expected and does not occur. For another, anticlimax is used intentionally whereas bathos is sometimes used unintentionally.

Pathos

Commonly confused with bathos due to the similar spelling, pathos is a rhetorical technique which appeals to the audience’s emotions, oftentimes with serious and compelling dialogue and events. Sometimes, though, bathos results from an exaggerated or failed attempt at using pathos. Here is an example of pathos versus bathos which uses pathos:

Pathos:

Upon hearing her husband has died, a woman breaks down crying, cradling the phone.

This emotional scene is an example of pathos.

Bathos using Pathos:

Upon hearing her package is going to be late, a woman breaks down crying, cradling the phone, wishing she had ordered via priority mail instead.

Such an excessive emotional scene abuses pathos, resulting in bathos—rather than being sympathetic, the woman is silly for her dramatic and unexpected emotional outburst over something so trivial.

VII. In Closing

Bathos turns tear-ridden, serious, emotionally-compelling scenes into awkward, twisted, and comedic scenes in just a moment. Whether on purpose or by mistake, bathos provides audiences with an unexpected laugh.

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What Is Bathos? Definition, Examples, and How to Use It

by Cole Salao | 2 comments

Bathos is a literary device where a serious or important subject is suddenly turned into a ridiculous or ordinary one. It is an anticlimax that surprises the reader and disrupts their thoughts and emotions. For example:

After hours of heated debate that often threatened to turn into a brawl, we have finally reached a decision that we believe will improve everyone’s quality of living. We are now banning chewing gum.

The first sentence above seems to be gearing up for a monumental announcement, but suddenly turns into something silly.

The term bathos originated from poet Alexander Pope’s Peri Bathous; or, The Art of Sinking in Poetry (1728) where he mocks other poets’ abuse of tropes, figures of speech, and literary techniques.

It was originally considered a characteristic of bad writing, as it is often awkward when used incorrectly. Amateur writers frequently sabotaged themselves with this while trying to make their works sound more sophisticated and serious.

When used correctly though, its juxtaposition creates humor in situations that would normally be considered serious. Comedic writers often use it to flip narratives and highlight the absurd.

Examples of Bathos in Literature

The best way to understand what bathos is and how it works is to look at different examples and see how each writer uses it to their advantage (or disadvantage). Let’s check out a few literary works that utilize this literary device.

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Why are people born? Why do they die? And why do they spend so much of the intervening time wearing digital watches?

Adams seems to be fond of this literary device as he frequently uses it throughout his books. The quote above is one of his more famous examples of bathos. By suddenly turning deeply philosophical questions into trivial ones, he draws attention to the gap between meaningful and mundane concerns and how we often attribute the same level of importance to them.

2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Field of Punishment. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to be woven into Hades’ underwear?

In The Lightning Thief, Riordan uses bathos to further develop his protagonist’s characterization by way of internal monologue. Through it, he introduces his readers to the protagonist’s personality, thought process, and brand of humor.

3. Enoch Arden by Lord Tennyson

Then the third night after this,While Enoch slumber’d motionless and pale,And Miriam watch’d and dozed at intervals,There came so loud a calling of the sea,That all the houses in the haven rang.He woke, he rose, he spread his arms abroadCrying with a loud voice `a sail! a sail!I am saved’; and so fell back and spoke no more.So past the strong heroic soul away.And when they buried him the little portHad seldom seen a costlier funeral.

Tennyson’s narrative poem consists of more than five dozen stanzas that follow the life of a merchant sailor named Enoch Arden. A serious and sentimental tone is evoked throughout the poem, but then is suddenly negated by the final three-line stanza.

4. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel… or something.

Part of this book’s infamy is its wildly amateurish writing. In the quote above, the protagonist Ana is describing her lover’s voice in a romantic way. Her description suddenly ends in “or something,” immediately replacing the sense of romance in the sentence with ridiculousness.

5. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

“Prostitution is bad! Everybody knows that, even him.” He turned with confidence to an experienced old man. “Am I right?”“You’re wrong,” answered the old man. “Prostitution gives her an opportunity to meet people. It provides fresh air and wholesome exercise, and it keeps her out of trouble.”

Catch-22 is all about the absurdity of war, and Heller emphasizes this by creating ludicrous situations and conversations that only work in satirical ways. In the above example, the character Nately tries to get an old man to agree with him about the evil of prostitution. The old man disagrees, using a bizarre argument that it gives a prostitute an opportunity to meet people and “exercise.”

How Do You Use Bathos?

Bathos is a story-telling technique that can easily be integrated into your writing. There’s really only two steps to using it:

Illustrate a serious scene.Interrupt the scene with something ordinary or ludicrous.

For example, imagine a scene where a couple is arguing:

Without Bathos: Emma was fed up with Dan’s behavior. If he doesn’t change his ways, she’s going to move out.

With Bathos: Emma was fed up with Dan’s behavior. If he doesn’t change his ways, she’s going to move out. How hard is it to close the door whenever he leaves a room?

It sounds like a serious situation at first, but we’re suddenly told the reason why Emma’s upset. Not only is it unexpected, but breaking up seems to be an overreaction to failing to close a door.

Of course, bathos’ effectiveness depends on the context you use it in. Sometimes it enhances your narrative, but it can also destroy it. Take some time to consider if it’s worth utilizing bathos in a specific part of your writing.

The Importance of Bathos

Writers usually avoid bathetic lines (lines that utilize bathos) in their writing, as it disrupts the emotions and pacing within serious compositions. For that reason, bathos is more often seen in comedic works. Comedic writers use it to create unexpectedly silly and laughable scenes from serious ones.

Bathos brings a certain level of wit to a work of literature. Writers can use this to inject some sense of humor, irony, or sarcasm into the narrative, giving the reader a rest from the usual tempo of the story.

What are your favorite instances of bathos? Share them in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

17 of the Most Common Literary Devices Every Reader and Writer Should KnowThe Difference Between Eucatastrophe and Deus Ex MachinaChekhov’s Gun: The Art of ForeshadowingThe MacGuffin: What It Is and How to Spot One

Cole SalaoCole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!

2 Comments

peNdantry

on July 10, 2022 at 8:24 am

You’ve mentioned, with good reason, Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I think my favourite example ever of bathos is from there, when describing the Vogon Constructor [sic] Fleet, he says:

“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.”

Cole Salao

on July 16, 2022 at 12:10 pm

Oh yeah, that’s a great one. My favorite one is:

“For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.”

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BATHOS | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

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Meaning of bathos in English

bathosnoun [ U ]

literary us

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/ˈbeɪ.θɑːs/ uk

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/ˈbeɪ.θɒs/

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a sudden change from a beautiful or important subject to a silly or very ordinary one, especially when this is not intended

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Examples from literature

Examples of bathos

bathos

Life is full of bathos as well as pathos.

From Project Gutenberg

They mistake impudence for authority, solemnity for wisdom, and bathos for inspiration.

From Project Gutenberg

This digital bathos, the deflating consequence of an amoral algorithm, no doubt contributes to our general sense of unease about the social-media project.

From The New Yorker

They usurp control by using bathos.

From Business Insider

The romance of these remarkable espousals was not to find its conclusion in bathos.

From Project Gutenberg

What a sample of the bathos will his history present!

From Project Gutenberg

Under the circumstances, there was bathos amid the poor girl's pathos!

From Project Gutenberg

That is why melodrama on the stage, with its ranting and strutting and flourishes, disgusts one by its bathos.

From Project Gutenberg

It contained much learning--had flights of eloquence, bursts of bathos, puffs of pathos, but not a smile in the whole hour and a half.

From Project Gutenberg

We dealt liberally in jeers at any exhibition of bathos or fustian; in laughter and applause at any touch of eloquence or wit.

From Project Gutenberg

This may be bathos in individual cases, yet it is the offspring of truth.

From Project Gutenberg

He frequently drops at the close of the octave stanza into a prosaic couplet, which has all the effect of bathos.

From Project Gutenberg

His own precipitate and ill-considered action had uncovered an idiotic mare's-nest, to taint his appeal with bathos and open his cause with a farcical anti-climax.

From Project Gutenberg

Outwardly cynical, he was sentimental to the point of bathos.

From Project Gutenberg

What is the pronunciation of bathos?

Translations of bathos

in Chinese (Traditional)

（修辭）突降法（指美好、莊重的內容突然變得平庸可笑的修辭手法）…

in Chinese (Simplified)

（修辞）突降法（指美好、庄重的内容突然变得平庸可笑的修辞手法）…

in Spanish

paso de lo sublime a lo prosaico y trivial…

in Portuguese

passagem do sério ao ridículo…

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Bathos - Examples and Definition of Bathos

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Bathos Examples and Definition - Literary Devices

Bathos Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Bathos - Definition and Examples - Poem Analysis

BATHOS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Bathos: Definition and Examples

Bathos: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms

What Is Bathos? Definition, Examples, and How to Use It - TCK Publishing

BATHOS | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

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Imtoken下载地址|bathos

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Bathos - Examples and Definition of Bathos

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Bathos - Definition and Examples - Poem Analysis

BATHOS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Bathos: Definition and Examples

Bathos: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms

What Is Bathos? Definition, Examples, and How to Use It - TCK Publishing

BATHOS | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

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