bathos
UK[ˈbeɪθɒs]US[ˈbeɪθɑːs]
n
a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one.
n
insincere or excessive pathos; sentimentality.
Etymology
the word 'bathos' was introduced into english in the 18th century by the poet alexander pope, who adopted it directly from greek, where 'βάθος' (bathos) literally means 'depth'. pope used it in a mock-technical sense to describe a ludicrous descent from the elevated to the commonplace in writing. the semantic shift from the concrete 'depth' to the rhetorical 'anticlimax' is an ironic extension, playing on the idea of sinking or falling deep from a height of style. this specialized literary term has since broadened to also encompass any failed attempt at sincere emotional depth that results in mawkishness.
Analysis
this word is a direct borrowing from greek and functions as a simplex unit in english. it is not productively formed from separable english morphemes.
Examples
the movie's dramatic climax was ruined by a moment of sheer bathos when the hero slipped on a banana peel.
the politician's speech was full of bathos, awkwardly shifting from tales of personal tragedy to complaints about airport security.
critics accused the novel of bathos, arguing its sentimental passages undermined the serious themes.