bathos
Sublime to ridiculous
Bathos is an abrupt, unintended shift from the elevated to the ridiculous—a descent that deflates serious tone through anticlimax.
A poet straining for profundity who lands in absurdity produces bathos.
The term often describes failed attempts at pathos: The eulogy collapsed into bathos when he mentioned the deceased's love of cheese puffs.
Distinguished from intentional anticlimax, which is comic technique rather than artistic failure.
Failure to satisfy expectations
- anticlimacticDisappointingly weak after buildup
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- fizzleFail after promising start
- underwhelmingFailing to meet expectations
descent · plummet · nosedive · comedown · disappointment · disillusionment · collapse · sinking
Recurring narrative device
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- contrastNotable difference between things
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- PopeCatholic Church's supreme leader
Excessively tearful sentiment
- sappyExcessively sentimental
- schmaltzyExcessively and insincerely sentimental
- melodramaticExaggeratedly emotional in expression
- overwroughtExcessively emotional or elaborate
weepy · tearjerker · saccharine · cloying · syrupy · mushy · corny · gushy
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
- floridExcessively ornate or ruddy
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- turgidSwollen or pompous
overwrought · inflated · pretentious · grandiose · histrionic · theatrical · hammy · overacting
Absurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
- ridiculousInviting scorn through absurdity
- farcicalAbsurdly comical or mockable
- laughableWorthy of derision
- preposterousCompletely contrary to reason
incongruous · mockery · parody · travesty · grotesque · comical · nonsensical · silliness
letdown
Failure to satisfy expectations
- anticlimacticDisappointingly weak after buildup
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- fizzleFail after promising start
underwhelming · descent · plummet · nosedive · comedown · disappointment · disillusionment · collapse · sinking · diminuendo
trope
Recurring narrative device
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- contrastNotable difference between things
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
Pope · mock-heroic · burlesque · satire
maudlin
Excessively tearful sentiment
- sappyExcessively sentimental
- schmaltzyExcessively and insincerely sentimental
- melodramaticExaggeratedly emotional in expression
overwrought · weepy · tearjerker · saccharine · cloying · syrupy · mushy · corny · gushy · treacly
grandiloquent
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
- floridExcessively ornate or ruddy
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
turgid · overwrought · inflated · pretentious · grandiose · histrionic · theatrical · hammy · overacting · bombastic
ludicrous
Absurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
- ridiculousInviting scorn through absurdity
- farcicalAbsurdly comical or mockable
- laughableWorthy of derision
preposterous · incongruous · mockery · parody · travesty · grotesque · comical · nonsensical · silliness · buffoonery
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- comedy termsjokes, puns, wit, sarcasm, irony
- comedy tropespratfall, parody, sight gag, running gag, satire
- comedy writingjoke, jokes, comedy, satire, parody
- sentimentalitymawkish, schmaltzy, saccharine, treacly, cloying
- Mock-Epicmock-epic, mock-heroic, The Rape of the Lock, heroic couplet, anticlimax
bathosclimax
Point of greatest intensity
crescendo · sublimity · the sublime · elevation · apotheosis
bathospathos
Pity-evoking quality
restraint · understatement · emotional authenticity · hardheadedness · cynicism
bathosclimax
Point of greatest intensity
denouement · cliffhanger · payoff · catharsis · rising action