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pathos

(pā'thŏs', -thôs') pronunciation

A quality, as of an experience or a work of art, that arouses feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow.
The feeling, as of sympathy or pity, so aroused.

[Greek, suffering.]

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Antonyms: pathos

Definition: deep sadness
Antonyms: cheer, glee, happiness, joy

Literary Dictionary: pathos

pathos [pay‐thoss], the emotionally moving quality or power of a literary work or of particular passages within it, appealing especially to our feelings of sorrow, pity, and compassionate sympathy.

Adjective: pathetic.

Poetry Glossary: Pathos

An element in artistic expression evoking pity, sorrow or compassion.

Word Tutor: pathos

IN BRIEF: Emotion of compassionate pity. Also: the quality in any form of representation that rouses emotion or compassion.

A good leader has intellect and pathos.

Tutor's tip: All the "pathos" (quality that moves one to sorrow or pity) he could muster raised only "bathos" (false or pretentious sympathy) in the audience.

Wikipedia: pathos

Pathos (Greek: πάθος) is one of the three modes of persuasion in rhetoric (along with ethos and logos). Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions. It is a part of Aristotle's philosophies in rhetoric.

Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways:

by metaphor or story telling, common as a hook,
by a general passion in the delivery and an overall amount of emotional items in the text of the speech, or in writing.

In rhetoric, pathos is the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience's judgment. A common use of pathos in argument is creating a sense of rejection if the audience doesn't agree. Creating a fear of rejection is in essence, creating a pathos argument.

Many refer to Pathos as the "band-wagon" appeal, or trying to convince the audience to join in on the speaker's belief. By making the statement in a way that cannot be argued, the audience feels driven to believe the speaker's opinion as a fact, thus joining the speaker in belief as it being a commonly accepted idea. This is a major theme used in any form of propaganda.

Over-emotionalism can be the result of an excess of pathos.

The term is commonly used by critics, especially in positive reference to the dramatic performances of actors.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Antonyms. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more
		Poetry Glossary. Copyright © 2007, ILOVEPOETRY, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Read more
		Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pathos". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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