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 abroad

Crying 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 port

Had 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 Know
• The Difference Between Eucatastrophe and Deus Ex Machina
• Chekhov’s Gun: The Art of Foreshadowing
• The MacGuffin: What It Is and How to Spot One