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pathetic fallacy
pathetic fallacy, a phrase coined by Ruskin in ‘Of the Pathetic Fallacy’ (Modern Painters, III, 1856, ch. 12), indicating the tendency of writers and artists to ascribe human emotions and sympathies to nature. The technique was extensively used in the late 18th and 19th cents by Goethe, Gray, Collins, Cowper, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Tennyson.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "pathetic fallacy." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "pathetic fallacy." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-patheticfallacy.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "pathetic fallacy." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-patheticfallacy.html |
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pathetic fallacy
pathetic fallacy the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature. The term was coined by the critic John Ruskin in Modern Painters (1856).
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pathetic fallacy." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pathetic fallacy." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-patheticfallacy.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pathetic fallacy." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-patheticfallacy.html |
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