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Pathos is the use of language, examples, diction, or images to create an emotional reaction in the reader. The most common types are anger at a social injustice, sympathy for another’s misfortune, or laughter at a humorous or illogical state of affairs.
Pathos Links:
- Black Hole of Calcutta (or click here to download a PDF version of this material.)
Obituary Advertisement - Pathos: Humorous College Admissions Essay (downloadable PDF handout)
Quick tips for Pathos (Do’s and don’ts) - Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy” (or click here to download a PDF version of this material.)
- T.S. Eliot’s Objective Correlative (PDF handout)
- What is pathos? (PDF handout)
The other persuasive appeals are logos and ethos.
Graphics on this page licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, CC BY 2.0. Source: Keely Joy Photography, Inc. via Flickr, Feed My Starving Children.
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