pathos definition english literature

pathos definition english literature

Exploring the Role of Pathos in English Literature

1. Introduction to Pathos in Literature

Pathos is an important feature of any type of literature or linguistic discourse. It encourages people to be empathic, which leads to sympathetic action. This suggestion is closely aligned with the classical concept of pathos and its application within rhetoric: to sway the audience with emotional arguments. Given that the discipline of literature holds, as a fundamental premise, the pursuit of understanding and concern for portraying individuals and their life experiences, the formula, pathos = empathy = concern = sympathetic action, seems particularly relevant within this domain. The paramount ingredient in an author’s connection with the reader is achieved by giving life to their narrative, ensuring that the reader’s commitment to the theme of the text is such that they can place themselves in the characters’ shoes. The emotional bond which is formed through identity is reinforcement of the fundamental Shakespearean axiom that literature holds up a mirror to nature. To fulfill the function of literature, these emotions are then needed to “pursue Orwellian objectives through Austenian means”.

For the ancient Greeks, the concept of “pathos” was fundamental to rhetoric. This word conveyed the idea of suffering and suggested two principal emotions with which authors and speakers could powerfully move their audience: anger and pity, particularly an excess of these emotions, known as hyperpathos. Associated with classical tragedy, the aim of art was to purge these emotions; emotion was thus appropriated as the means of enthusing the audience. Pathos is often referred to as an “appeal to emotion”; by using specific examples, usually reflecting on a difficult time, the author or speaker draws an emotional response from the reader. This response need not be intentional but depends on the “cultural background of readers”.

2. Historical Perspectives on Pathos in English Literature

In ancient Greece, the word “Pathos” (late Greek for suffering, passionate, experience, etc.) referred to the vast and wide range of irrational, involuntary, and excessive displays and indeed, excesses of passion other than calm reason, as well as sudden outbursts of temporary or short-lasting mood changes. In a linguistic context, Pathos often got identified and referred to the various emotional responses in individuals when they listened to a speech or an argument, as well as to the reader’s reaction to reading a text other than the seemingly factual accounts of a deed. People communicating with others crafted their language to reflect and stimulate the various vastly different and highly varied moods and reactions they might associate with the listeners they were dealing with. These emotional responses or attitudes can be manipulated and nurtured for an argument or even calmed down for an intelligent and rational discussion. They used logical, structural, and stylistic devices either to instantly provoke a heedless response or to slowly control and channel the emotional energy. The Greeks later linked Pathos to a range of organs and body fluids that allegedly influenced the human psyche. In medicine, Pathos also went on to describe the context where a patient’s illness coincided with their environment, psychological, and social conditions.

Pathos is one of the three ancient Greek strategies for communication endorsed by Aristotle in his treatise Rhetorica, which has been in use independently by English discourse for over two thousand years. It is as pertinent and profound for English students today as it was in the early Hellenic period. Pathos is an appeal to an audience’s emotions, and English writers studied the various affective responses in society and cultivated their art of writing using emotional content to appeal to their readers. This paper proposes to explore the role and significance of emotional appeals in English literary discourse using historical, philosophical, and theoretical standpoints.

3. Techniques and Strategies for Eliciting Pathos in Literary Works

Observe how the symbols of a clock or a plant are used throughout the story, because these symbols must also add to the reader’s emotional connections with characters and lives of the story. For example, during the first meeting of the lovers, a clock does not interrupt the protagonist of “A White Clock” and then the protagonist feels sorry for the violent, heavy-handed clock. On one hand, the clock did not interrupt, but still the clock has punished this morning person by holding the protagonist until late in the day. The pathos readers feel for this event involves the instruction the day when the protagonist did not see her perspective lover; this deprives readers of the pleasures that morning love can provide. Such symbol use and juxtaposition increases the emotional complexity of characters and tension in the readers’ reactions to moments when they feel the pathos of the moment. These techniques, the use of personification and juxtaposition, add to the playful tone of the confrontation scene; the protagonist also uses metonymy, synecdoche, and pun in addition to the literary devices of juxtaposition and personification.

Although students often study pathos as a rhetorical theory, they frequently do not recognize how their language has been constructed to manipulate their emotions. Some literary critics and writers are more sensitive to pathos because they shape and respond to language more than the average person. In many works of English literature, the pathos or emotional connection that the reader has with the work, often a poem, becomes more enjoyable and meaningful. Pathos involves the reader emotionally, while logos requires intellectual involvement of the reader. Writers carefully construct words to manipulate the emotions that the reader has upon rereading the work. Properly used, pathos takes the reader and keeps the reader in the intended direction and mood of the poem.

4. Analysis of Key Literary Works Utilizing Pathos

In Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice,” pathos makes it more emotional and reflects personal flaws and contradictory feelings that are characteristic of human nature. The conflict of two characters, Darcy and Elizabeth, sends strong moral messages and makes the reader look for discriminative and mordant comments from Austen’s skeptical attitude. Darcy and Elizabeth have to follow the steps of self-enlightenment and openness toward each other while the obstacles are constantly raised between two main characters in the literary plot. Horseplay and misunderstandings prevent that immersion inside the true self in order to act according to their ever-being emotions and instincts that can lead to happiness.

Another significant work is “Jude the Obscure” that pursues the aim to reveal the striking struggle of the main character and ground it through a series of events, assuming that Jude’s nature, in particular, cannot be ignored and his abilities, sooner or later, have to find their application. In this sense, the ethical life bears no relevance for Jude as his inward self is much more essential to be developed. The turning point of pathos display is the scene that reflects Jude’s inability to concentrate on the church work: “He could not get the words of the prayers right. His agnosticism, which had during his sanguine days a spiritual centrifugal force, had of later time turned into a spiritual centripetal force.” As a mirror, the regular attempting of Jude to attain the transcendental sacred knowledge is characteristic of a severe inner struggle that he was no longer strong enough to resist and avoid.

The key literary works in which pathos accentuates the gravity of human emotions, provoking empathy and compassion, are numerous. The first person to mention is T.S. Eliot, a poet whose talented mind manifested great knowledge of cultural life and pursued the aim to integrate various philosophic, religious, and artistic spheres. In “The Waste Land,” the major emotion inculcated by the author is desolation and despair. The protagonist’s spiritual rupture is keen as he yearns and suffers a lot from a lack of understanding. The poetry is based upon several criteria that give a genuine and rather powerful appeal to the poem: the fusion of the earthly and sublime, singing about suffering and compassion, playing upon universal emotion, and yet dealing with the individual. “The Waste Land” is a beautiful example of the integration of universal and personal feelings.

5. Conclusion and Future Directions in the Study of Pathos in English Literature

In this literature review, we have drawn attention to the special nature of pathos and its importance in romantic English literature. Feelings of sadness, regret, and finally, deep compassion are analyzed as component emotions of pathos at the natures of pathos. The context produces pathos in a work of tragic literature. While pathos can also be present in a work of non-tragic literature, the reader does not experience it in the same way or to the same level as in a work of tragic literature. The emotional transference is limited to moments in the work and does not affect the whole work. The exploration of some aspects of pathos within the broader context of English literature may have implications for the teaching of romantic literature and the appreciation of its romantic poets.

This article has shown that pathos is recognized as a clear and important concept both in Greek and English literature. The readers of romantic literature undergo varied literary experiences when reading and reflecting on such tragic works. The role of pathos is still an intriguing and important transitional theme of the romantic poetry in the English literary language and deserves further exploration by not only lovers of romantic poetry but also teachers of this genre of English literature.