English Literature IGCSE
Pathetic Fallacy
What Pathetic Fallacy means in English Literature IGCSE, as defined for Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Pathetic Fallacy
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.
A specific type of personification where the weather or environment reflects the internal emotions of a character.
The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example, angry clouds.
Attributing human emotions or responses to nature or inanimate objects.
Attributing human emotions or traits to nature or inanimate objects.
Topics that use Pathetic Fallacy
- Fire on the Mountain (Cambridge International IGCSE)
- I'm the King of the Castle (Cambridge International IGCSE)
- Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 (Selected) (Cambridge International IGCSE)
- Stories of Ourselves Volume 2 (Selected) (Cambridge International IGCSE)
- Unseen Critical Commentary (Cambridge International IGCSE)
- Great Expectations (Pearson Edexcel IGCSE)
- The Scarlet Letter (Pearson Edexcel IGCSE)
Related terms
- Juxtaposition
- Foreshadowing
- Anagnorisis
- Caesura
- Enjambment
- Free Indirect Discourse
- Motif
- Omniscient Narrator
Using Pathetic Fallacy in the exam
Definition questions usually carry one or two marks, and examiners look for the precise wording. Write the definition from memory, check it against the version above, and then use the term in a longer answer on the same topic so it sticks.
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