2.1.5
Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic fallacy is when a writer gives human emotions to things that are not human, such as objects, animals or, most commonly, the weather.


Furious winds
Furious winds
- The furious winds blew across the plains.
- In this phrase, you are creating an image of the wind feeling fury. This is pathetic fallacy because fury is a human emotion and wind cannot actually feel any sort of emotion.
- By giving the wind a human emotion, it helps the reader to visualise the severity of its anger.
- The idea of the wind being able to feel this emotion also humanises it and suggests that it has a consciousness.


Sea raged
Sea raged
- She balled her fists in anger as the sea raged behind her.
- In this phrase, you are creating an image of the sea feeling rage. This is pathetic fallacy because rage is a human emotion and sea cannot actually feel any sort of emotion.
- By giving the sea a human emotion, it helps the reader to visualise the severity of the rage – it almost seems ready to attack.
- The anger of the character is also highlighted and then emphasised because the sea is echoing her feelings as well.


Sad clouds
Sad clouds
- Mud-coloured clouds drooped sadly over the muddy streets as the criminal continued to elude them.
- This is pathetic fallacy because sadness is a human emotion and clouds cannot actually feel any sort of emotion.
- By giving the clouds a human emotion, it helps the reader to visualise the thick, opaque clouds blocking our view.
- The idea of the clouds feeling sad paints a picture of them hanging low, moving slowly, and obscuring everything.
Tips for Using Pathetic Fallacy
Tips for Using Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic fallacy is when a writer gives human emotions to things that are not human, such as objects, animals or, most commonly, the weather.


Alternative use
Alternative use
- Pathetic fallacy can also be used when the weather echoes human emotions (e.g. when something sad happens, it is raining).
- This is a form of personification but refers purely to giving human emotions to inhuman things.
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Focus on the weather
Focus on the weather
- Focus on making the weather feel something.


Consider the mood
Consider the mood
- Be careful with how you use the pathetic fallacy – your choice of emotion will either emphasise the mood you want to create or will change it completely.


Echo characters' emotions
Echo characters' emotions
- Pathetic fallacy can be used to set the scene, reinforce a feeling, or foreshadow something happening in the future.
- If you want to really emphasise the effect, have the weather echo an emotion from a character.


Choose vocabulary carefully
Choose vocabulary carefully
- Your choice of vocabulary is vital in creating your language devices.
1Key Terms
2Language Techniques
2.1Language Devices
3Paper 1: Reading
3.1Paper 1: Reading - Section A
3.1.1Paper 1: Reading - Overview - Section A
3.1.2Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 1
3.1.3Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 2
3.1.4Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading
3.1.5Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 3
3.1.6Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 4
3.1.7End of Topic Test - Section A
3.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading
3.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q1
3.1.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q2
3.1.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q3
3.1.12Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q4 1
3.1.13Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q4 2
4Paper 1: Writing
4.1Paper 1: Writing - Structuring Your Answer
4.1.1Paper 1: Writing - Overview - Section B
4.1.2Paper 1: Writing - Descriptive Writing
4.1.3Paper 1: Writing - Narrative Writing
4.1.4Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B (option 1)
4.1.5Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B (option 2)
4.1.6Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B - Checklist
4.1.7End of Topic Test - Writing Section
4.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Writing
4.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q5 1
4.1.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q5 2
5Paper 2: Reading
5.1Paper 2: Reading - DAFORESTER
5.1.1Paper 2: Reading - Direct Address
5.1.2Paper 2: Reading - Alliteration
5.1.3Paper 2: Reading - Facts
5.1.4Paper 2: Reading - Opinions
5.1.5Paper 2: Reading - Repetition
5.1.6Paper 2: Reading - Exaggeration (Hyperbole)
5.1.7Paper 2: Reading - Statistics
5.1.8Paper 2: Reading - Triples (Rule of 3)
5.1.9Paper 2: Reading - Emotive Language
5.1.10Paper 2: Reading - Rhetorical Questions
5.1.11End of Topic Test - DAFORESTER
5.2Paper 2: Reading - Structuring Your Answer
5.2.1Paper 2: Reading - Overview - Section A
5.2.2Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 1
5.2.3Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 2
5.2.4Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 3
5.2.5Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading
5.2.6Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 4
5.2.7End of Topic Test - Section A
5.2.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading
5.2.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q1
5.2.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q2 1
5.2.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q2 2
5.2.12Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q4
6Paper 2: Writing
6.1Paper 2: Writing - Structuring Your Answer
6.2Types of Writing
6.2.1Paper 2: Writing - Article
6.2.2Paper 2: Writing - Essay
6.2.3Paper 2: Writing - Leaflet
6.2.4Paper 2: Writing - Letter
6.2.5Paper 2: Writing - Speech
6.2.6Paper 2: Writing - Review
6.2.7Paper 2: Writing - Travel Writing
6.2.8Paper 2: Writing - Diaries & Journals
6.2.9End of Topic Test - Types of Writing
6.3Writing to...
6.3.1Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Inform
6.3.2Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Inform - Example
6.3.3Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Explain
6.3.4Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Explain - Example
6.3.5Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade
6.3.6Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade - Example
6.3.7Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Argue
6.3.8Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Argue - Example
6.3.9Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade vs Writing
6.3.10Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Advise
6.3.11Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Advise - Example
6.3.12End of Topic Test - Writing to...
6.3.13Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Writing
Jump to other topics
1Key Terms
2Language Techniques
2.1Language Devices
3Paper 1: Reading
3.1Paper 1: Reading - Section A
3.1.1Paper 1: Reading - Overview - Section A
3.1.2Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 1
3.1.3Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 2
3.1.4Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading
3.1.5Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 3
3.1.6Paper 1: Reading - Answering Question 4
3.1.7End of Topic Test - Section A
3.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Reading
3.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q1
3.1.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q2
3.1.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q3
3.1.12Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q4 1
3.1.13Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q4 2
4Paper 1: Writing
4.1Paper 1: Writing - Structuring Your Answer
4.1.1Paper 1: Writing - Overview - Section B
4.1.2Paper 1: Writing - Descriptive Writing
4.1.3Paper 1: Writing - Narrative Writing
4.1.4Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B (option 1)
4.1.5Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B (option 2)
4.1.6Paper 1: Writing - Answering Section B - Checklist
4.1.7End of Topic Test - Writing Section
4.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 1: Writing
4.1.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q5 1
4.1.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P1 Q5 2
5Paper 2: Reading
5.1Paper 2: Reading - DAFORESTER
5.1.1Paper 2: Reading - Direct Address
5.1.2Paper 2: Reading - Alliteration
5.1.3Paper 2: Reading - Facts
5.1.4Paper 2: Reading - Opinions
5.1.5Paper 2: Reading - Repetition
5.1.6Paper 2: Reading - Exaggeration (Hyperbole)
5.1.7Paper 2: Reading - Statistics
5.1.8Paper 2: Reading - Triples (Rule of 3)
5.1.9Paper 2: Reading - Emotive Language
5.1.10Paper 2: Reading - Rhetorical Questions
5.1.11End of Topic Test - DAFORESTER
5.2Paper 2: Reading - Structuring Your Answer
5.2.1Paper 2: Reading - Overview - Section A
5.2.2Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 1
5.2.3Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 2
5.2.4Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 3
5.2.5Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading
5.2.6Paper 2: Reading - Answering Question 4
5.2.7End of Topic Test - Section A
5.2.8Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Reading
5.2.9Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q1
5.2.10Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q2 1
5.2.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q2 2
5.2.12Diagnostic Misconceptions - P2 Q4
6Paper 2: Writing
6.1Paper 2: Writing - Structuring Your Answer
6.2Types of Writing
6.2.1Paper 2: Writing - Article
6.2.2Paper 2: Writing - Essay
6.2.3Paper 2: Writing - Leaflet
6.2.4Paper 2: Writing - Letter
6.2.5Paper 2: Writing - Speech
6.2.6Paper 2: Writing - Review
6.2.7Paper 2: Writing - Travel Writing
6.2.8Paper 2: Writing - Diaries & Journals
6.2.9End of Topic Test - Types of Writing
6.3Writing to...
6.3.1Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Inform
6.3.2Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Inform - Example
6.3.3Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Explain
6.3.4Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Explain - Example
6.3.5Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade
6.3.6Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade - Example
6.3.7Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Argue
6.3.8Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Argue - Example
6.3.9Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Persuade vs Writing
6.3.10Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Advise
6.3.11Paper 2: Writing - Writing to Advise - Example
6.3.12End of Topic Test - Writing to...
6.3.13Exam-Style Questions - Paper 2: Writing
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