anticlimax
anticlimax, a figure of speech that consists of the usually sudden transition in discourse from a significant idea to a trivial or ludicrous one. Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock uses anticlimax liberally; an example is
Here thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take, and sometimes tea.
Citation Information
Article Title:
anticlimax
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
28 February 2018
Access Date:
February 23, 2025