Pathos

The Pilgrim’s Progress

by John Bunyan

The Pilgrim’s Progress: Pathos 1 key example

Definition of Pathos

Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Part 1: Vanity Fair
Explanation and Analysis—Faithful's Martyrdom:

When Christian and Faithful enter the city of Vanity Fair, they cause a commotion because of their strange speech, dress, and their refusal to buy any of the Fair's sinful merchandise. Eventually, they end up imprisoned and on trial, and Faithful is found guilty of disrupting trade, stirring up division, and circulating offensive ideas in Vanity. The jury unanimously sentences Faithful to the cruelest possible fate, and the novel uses pathos to demonstrate the implacable opposition between the world (Vanity) and Christianity:

They therefore brought him out, to do with him according to their Law; and first they Scourged him, then they Buffeted him, then they Lanced his flesh with Knives; after that they Stoned him with stones, then pricked him with their Swords; and last of all they burned him to ashes at the Stake. Thus came Faithful to his end.