Question

What are some examples of bathos?

Answer 1

Hint: Our task is to provide instances where the literary device known as 'bathos' is used. Bathos might have been caused by use of professional language and imagery to depict relatively insignificant subject matter. Or we can say that bathos is a dramatic shift in writing or speaking from a critical or meaningful topic to a nonsensical or quite common one in literary criticism.

Complete answer:
Bathos is a figurative device that comes from the Greek word bathos, which means "depth." Bathos is when a poet or writer uses insignificant and ludicrous descriptions, metaphors, or concepts in an attempt to become more expressive or sentimental. This is when a creator brings up an event with ridiculous (and sometimes increasingly insane) metaphors in order to create anticipation. Initially it was utilized to characterize poor poetry, but the word is very often used amongst comic authors to make writings more ridiculously entertaining.

Some examples look like this;
(a) A James L. Brooks and Allan Burns show: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
An installment of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ featured the demise of a comedian Chuckles, who'd been brutally murdered by a rampaging elephant. Everybody at the platform constantly makes jokes about that, which Mary despises. Afterward, as she attends a service for Chuckles, she bursts out laughing, causing the others to look at her with exasperation.

(b) BBC Radio Comedy: I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again
Some bathos examples can also be found in a British radio series 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'. John Cleese and Jo Kendall played a couple (John and Mary) whose marriage is on the verge of falling apart. When Mary tells John that they once had something "pure and wonderful" and asks what happened to that passion, he responds with a wit that, "You spent it all."

(c) General example;
Thomas spent his life’s final hour doing what he loved doing most; arguing with his girlfriend.
This is bathos because for a person’s final hour of life which is normally supposed to be solemn, there's humor provided at the end in order to lighten the mood (this is where bathos is used).

Note: The attribute in something witnessed or perceived which evokes compassion and a sense of sorrow is referred to as pathos (adjective form would be 'pathetic'). Pathos is an effective way of creating a compassionate relationship between both reader and its subject. Expressing pathos is important if the protagonist is deserving of the reader's sorrow or sympathy.