Pathos (, ; plural:
pathea; , for "
suffering" or "
experience;"
adjectival form: 'pathetic' from ) represents an appeal to the emotions of the audience, and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in
rhetoric (where it is considered one of the three
modes of persuasion, alongside
ethos and
logos), and in literature, film and other narrative art.