Which literary term is defined as a ludicrous attempt to portray pathos, often by dignifying the commonplace or exaggerating emotion?

Which literary term is defined as a ludicrous attempt to portray pathos, often by dignifying the commonplace or exaggerating emotion?

• A. Bathos
• B. Euphemism
• C. Malapropism
• D. Epiphany

Answer: (A)

Bathos is the technique of deliberately inflating emotion or dignity to a trivial subject, producing a ludicrous attempt to portray pathos. It often dignifies the commonplace or exaggerates emotion to comic, ridiculous effect. This definition fits best here because the term describes turning ordinary things into grand, emotional moments in order to be absurd or humorous. Euphemism softens language, malapropism involves misusing a word for humorous effect, and epiphany is a character’s sudden realization—none centers on staging false pathos about the mundane like bathos does.

Bathos is the technique of deliberately inflating emotion or dignity to a trivial subject, producing a ludicrous attempt to portray pathos. It often dignifies the commonplace or exaggerates emotion to comic, ridiculous effect. This definition fits best here because the term describes turning ordinary things into grand, emotional moments in order to be absurd or humorous. Euphemism softens language, malapropism involves misusing a word for humorous effect, and epiphany is a character’s sudden realization—none centers on staging false pathos about the mundane like bathos does.