All Topics  
Pathos

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Pathos
 
 
  Topics Pathos Topic Home

Pathos is one of the three modes of persuasion
Modes of persuasion

The modes of persuasion are devices in rhetoric that classify the speaker's appeal to the audience. They are: ethos, pathos and logos.Aristotle's describes the modes of persuasion thus:...
 in rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
 (along with ethos
Ethos

Ethos is a Ancient Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" , "custom, habit", that can be translated into English language in different ways....
 and logos
Logos

is an important term in philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion.Heraclitus established the term in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the cosmos....
). Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions. It is a part of Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
's philosophies
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 in rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
. Not to be confused with 'bathos
Bathos

Bathos is from the Greek language wikt:?????, meaning depth. As used in English language it originally referred to a particular type of bad poetry, but it is now used more broadly to cover any ridiculous artwork or performance....
' (ß????) which is an attempt to perform in a serious, dramatic fashion that fails and ends up becoming comedy.

Pathetic events in a plot are also not to be confused with tragic events. In a tragedy, the character brings about his or her own demise, whereas those invoking pathos often occur to innocent characters, invoking unmerited grief.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Pathos'
Start a new discussion about 'Pathos'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Pathos is one of the three modes of persuasion
Modes of persuasion

The modes of persuasion are devices in rhetoric that classify the speaker's appeal to the audience. They are: ethos, pathos and logos.Aristotle's describes the modes of persuasion thus:...
 in rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
 (along with ethos
Ethos

Ethos is a Ancient Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" , "custom, habit", that can be translated into English language in different ways....
 and logos
Logos

is an important term in philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion.Heraclitus established the term in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the cosmos....
). Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions. It is a part of Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
's philosophies
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 in rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
. Not to be confused with 'bathos
Bathos

Bathos is from the Greek language wikt:?????, meaning depth. As used in English language it originally referred to a particular type of bad poetry, but it is now used more broadly to cover any ridiculous artwork or performance....
' (ß????) which is an attempt to perform in a serious, dramatic fashion that fails and ends up becoming comedy.

Pathetic events in a plot are also not to be confused with tragic events. In a tragedy, the character brings about his or her own demise, whereas those invoking pathos often occur to innocent characters, invoking unmerited grief. Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways:
  • by a metaphor
    Metaphor

    Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
     or story
    Story

    Story can mean:...
     telling, common as a hook
    Hook (rhetoric)

    A hook in rhetoric is a rhetorical device that gets the attention of the audience and makes them want to listen to the rest of the speech. Hooks can often be metaphors, playing on pathos....
    ,
  • by a general passion
    Passion (emotion)

    Passion is an emotion applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something....
     in the delivery and an overall number of emotional items in the text of the speech, or in writing.


For example, in Jane Austen
Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose Literary realism, biting social commentary and masterful use of free indirect speech, Burlesque , and irony have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature....
’s Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen. First published on 28 January 1813, it is her second published novel. Its manuscript was initially written between 1796 and 1797 in Steventon, Hampshire, where Austen lived in the rectory....
, Mr. Darcy persuades Elizabeth to reconsider her disposition of him through pathos in his letter when he informs her of Mr. Wickham’s offenses.

See also

  • Appeal to emotion
    Appeal to emotion

    Appeal to emotion is a fallacy which uses the manipulation of the recipient's emotions, rather than valid logic, to win an argument. This kind of appeal to emotion is a type of red herring and encompasses several logical fallacies, including:...
  • Rhetoric
    Rhetoric

    Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
  • Bathos
    Bathos

    Bathos is from the Greek language wikt:?????, meaning depth. As used in English language it originally referred to a particular type of bad poetry, but it is now used more broadly to cover any ridiculous artwork or performance....
  • Pathetic fallacy
    Pathetic fallacy

    The pathetic fallacy or anthropomorphic fallacy is the treatment of inanimate objects as if they had human feelings, thought, or sensations....