Bathos

Bathos (/ˈbeɪθɒs/ BAY-thoss;Greek: , lit. "depth") is a literary term, first coined by Alexander Pope in his 1727 essay "Peri Bathous", 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). Intentional bathos appears in satiric 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.

Alfred Lord Tennyson's narrative poem, Enoch Arden, ends with the following lines:

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