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).

Essentially, Bathos is the use of inappropriate or overly dramatic language for a trivial subject. It’s a shift in tone that feels unexpected and often unintentionally funny.

The meaning of BATHOS is the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style. How to use bathos in a sentence.

Bathos, (from Greek bathys, “deep”), unsuccessful, and therefore ludicrous, attempt to portray pathos in art, i.e., to evoke pity, sympathy, or sorrow. The term was first used in this sense by Alexander Pope …

Aug 11, 2025 · Learn the definition, see famous examples, and understand how bathos differs from pathos. Bathos is a literary device in which a sudden, jarring shift from an elevated or serious tone to …

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.

If something starts out serious and then turns trivial, that’s bathos. If you’re watching a serious drama about Poland’s transition to capitalism and it suddenly ends in a giddy car chase, you might remark …

In literary criticism, bathos is a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one.

Hogarth created The Bathos toward the end of his life. It is considered one of the bleakest artworks of the 18th century because it depicts the Apocalypse without an afterlife.

Aug 18, 2023 · Bathos refers to an abrupt, unintended transition in style from the elevated to the commonplace, producing a ludicrous effect. The term derives from the Greek word “bathys”, …