| Front | bathos |
|---|---|
| Back | an unwitting drop from elevation into triteness or triviality, or pathos so overdone that it tumbles into the ludicrous stuffed owl 1930, an Anthony of bad verse edited by w. b. Wyndham and c. Lee. Bathos (/ˈbeɪθɒs/ BAY-thoss;[1] Greek: βάθος, lit. "depth") is a literary term, coined by Alexander Pope in his 1727 essay "Peri Bathous",[1] to describe amusingly failed attempts at sublimity (i.e., pathos). In particular, bathos is associated with anticlimax, an abrupt transition from a lofty style or grand topic to a common or vulgar one. This may be either accidental (through artistic ineptitude) or intentional (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. |
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