Bathos: A Literary Device

Etymology of Bathos

The word “bathos” has its origin in Greek. It can be traced back to the Greek word “βάθος” (bathos), which means “depth.” In ancient Greek, it was used literally to refer to the depth of the sea. With time, the term evolved and was adopted into English as “bathos.”

Meanings of Bathos

Meaning	Description
Anticlimax	Sudden shift in tone from serious to trivial, undermining emotional impact.
Overly Sentimental or Melodramatic Writing	Excessive sentimentality, resulting in insincere or artificial emotional content.
Ineffectual or Forced Pathos	Attempt to evoke deep emotion that falls flat due to contrivance or clichés.
Comedic Effect	Intentional use for humor, transitioning from serious to unexpected and humorous outcomes.
Rhetorical Device	Shift in tone for satire or criticism, often exposing the absurdity of a subject.
Literary Critique	Analyzing shifts in tone and emotional depth in literature and their impact on reader interpretation.

Definition of Bathos

Bathos, as a literary device, refers to the sudden and often unintentional transition in a text from a tone of elevated emotion, seriousness, or grandeur to one that is trivial, mundane, or absurd.

It creates a jarring contrast that can undermine the intended emotional impact or seriousness of the subject matter. Bathos is employed to elicit various effects, including humor, critique, or the highlighting of insincerity or artificiality in writing.

Common Examples of Bathos

Common Types	Explanation	Example
Film and Television	A dramatic scene is abruptly disrupted by a comical or trivial event, creating a jarring contrast in tone.	In a suspenseful movie, a character’s intense monologue about a life-changing decision is interrupted when they accidentally sit on a whoopee cushion.
Literature	A serious or heartfelt speech by a character is followed by an unintentionally humorous or incongruous remark.	In a novel, a character delivers an emotional farewell speech to a loved one and then accidentally farts loudly, breaking the solemnity of the moment.
Advertising	An advertisement employs grandiose language to promote a mundane product, exaggerating its significance.	An ad for a basic household sponge describes it as a “revolutionary cleaning marvel that will change your life forever,” complete with epic music and visuals.
Political Speeches	A politician’s passionate and heartfelt speech is followed by an unrelated and humorous anecdote, undermining seriousness.	During a campaign rally, a candidate passionately discusses national issues and then tells a funny story about their pet hamster, eliciting laughter.
Everyday Conversation	A serious discussion is abruptly shifted to a trivial or unrelated topic, creating a bathetic shift in the conversation.	In a meeting about budget cuts, someone suddenly starts discussing their weekend plans to go hiking, derailing the discussion.
Literary Parodies	A parody mocks emotionally charged literary works with exaggerated or absurd language, creating humor through contrast.	A parody of a famous romantic novel describes a passionate kiss as “the collision of two quivering blobs of lip meat,” highlighting the absurdity.
Satirical Writing	Satirical writing uses bathos to criticize overly sentimental or pompous language or themes, revealing their absurdity.	A satirical article mocks excessive corporate jargon by describing a simple office task as “synergizing our multidimensional productivity vectors.”
Comedy	Stand-up comedians employ bathos to create humor by setting up serious expectations and then subverting them with unexpected punchlines.	A comedian talks about the meaning of life and ends with, “And the answer to it all is… pineapple pizza!”
Song Lyrics	Some songwriters use bathos by combining profound-sounding lyrics with mundane or absurd imagery, creating comedic contrast.	In a song about love, the lyrics compare the beloved to the vastness of the universe and then mention their penchant for eating cereal without milk.
Visual Arts	In visual arts, bathos is achieved by juxtaposing a serious or emotional subject with incongruous elements, creating an artistic contrast.	A painting depicting a somber funeral scene includes a background detail of a clown riding a unicycle, introducing an element of humor.

Types of Bathos

Type	Definition	Example
Dramatic Bathos	Sudden shift from emotional or serious to trivial or absurd, often for humor or irony.	A character’s heartfelt love confession is met with, “Can you pass the ketchup?”
Verbal Bathos	Drop in language from elevated to colloquial, highlighting tone incongruity.	After praising nature poetically, a character says, “Yeah, it’s nice, I guess.”
Character-Driven Bathos	Character’s actions, often serious, lead to comical effect.	A solemn leader unexpectedly dances during an official ceremony.
Situational Bathos	Seemingly serious event is revealed as trivial or anticlimactic.	A heist’s safe reveals rubber duckies instead of jewels.
Emotional Bathos	Abrupt shift from sorrow to laughter or emotional shallowness.	Mourning turns to laughter as a character slips on a banana peel.
Satirical Bathos	Narrative Bathos	Romantic parody uses exaggerated declarations of love.
Narrative Bathos	Shift in tone affects overall narrative, often introducing trivial elements.	Epic fantasy shifts to a subplot about collecting rare coins.
Visual Bathos	Juxtaposes serious subject with incongruous visuals for impact.	Funeral painting includes a clown juggling rubber chickens.
Symbolic Bathos	Symbols transition from profound to banal, challenging meaning.	Majestic eagle symbolizes freedom but obsessively collects pebbles.

Shakespearean Bathos

1. Hamlet (Act 5, Scene 1):
   • Example: In the graveyard scene, Hamlet encounters two gravediggers who are digging Ophelia’s grave. Hamlet picks up a skull and delivers his famous soliloquy, beginning with “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest.”
   • Reference: This moment is a classic example of bathos as it transitions from Hamlet’s reflection on mortality and the skull of a court jester to his playful banter with Horatio and the gravediggers.
2. Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5):
   • Example: As Lady Macbeth’s mental state deteriorates, she sleepwalks and obsessively tries to wash an imaginary bloodstain from her hands, saying, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”
   • Reference: This scene exhibits bathos by juxtaposing Lady Macbeth’s intense guilt and hallucinations with the triviality of washing an invisible stain, highlighting the contrast between her inner turmoil and her mundane actions.
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 3, Scene 1):
   • Example: In this comedic play, the character Bottom undergoes a transformation and gets a donkey’s head. The fairy queen, Titania, falls in love with him due to a magical spell.
   • Reference: This situation creates bathos by combining the absurdity of Bottom’s appearance with the seriousness of Titania’s enchantment, resulting in comedic and emotional effects.
4. As You Like It (Act 2, Scene 7):
   • Example: In this scene, the melancholic character Jaques reflects on the “seven ages of man,” describing the various stages of life from infancy to old age.
   • Reference: The bathetic shift occurs when Jaques concludes his reflective speech by saying, “Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” The phrase “sans everything” injects a humorous and abrupt contrast into the otherwise serious reflection.
5. The Comedy of Errors (Act 2, Scene 2):
   • Example: In this farcical comedy, Dromio of Syracuse returns home and describes an incident where he was pursued by a fat kitchen wench. He says, “Thou calledst me dog before thou hadst a cause. But since I am a dog, beware my fangs.”
   • Reference: This passage showcases bathos through the juxtaposition of Dromio’s witty wordplay with the inconsequential nature of the situation, contributing to the play’s humor.

Suggested Readings

1. Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Oxford University Press, 1953.
2. Derrida, Jacques. Dissemination. University of Chicago Press, 1981.
3. Hutcheon, Linda. The Politics of Postmodernism. Routledge, 1989.
4. McHale, Brian. Postmodernist Fiction. Routledge, 1987.
5. Preminger, Alex, and Brogan, T. V. F., editors. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton University Press, 1993.