Bathos is often intentional, creating an abrupt shift from serious to silly to stimulate humor or irony. The noble speech had bathos when it ended with a joke about chickens.
Pro Tip 2/3
Literary Device
Authors may use bathos to critique or mock high-minded writing or ideas by contrasting them with the trivial. His poetic verse fell into bathos with the mention of his lost socks.
Pro Tip 3/3
Avoid Unintentional
Bathos can be a literary pitfall; avoid unintentional shifts that may undermine serious content. Her sentimental novel unintentionally reached bathos with its clichéd happy ending.