HYPERBOLE

Welcome to this lecture headed “HYPERBOLE”. We will be discussing all about hyperbole. Enjoy your lecture.

Hyperbole is the utilization of comprehensible and focused exaggeration.

Hyperbolic statements are frequently profligate and not meant to be taken plainly.

These statements are used to produce a strong notion and lay emphasis.

We make use of hyperbole frequently in everyday language. Statements like “I’m so hungry I could eat a cow,” and “We had to wait forever for the bus” are hyperbole.

Hyperbole every now and then makes use of simile or metaphor to produce the effect of overstatement, like “He’s as strong as an ox.”

Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word which means “over-casting” is a figure of speech that involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.

It is a device that we utilize in our everyday speech. For example, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say:

“Ages have passed since I last saw you”. You may not have met him for three or four hours or a day, but the use of the word “ages” exaggerates this speech to add stress to your waiting.

Thus, a hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to give emphasis to the real situation.

A few other common Hyperbole examples will be provided below.

The definition of hyperbole was derived from the Greek for “to throw beyond” or “exaggeration.”

Regularly used Hyperbole

As mentioned above, there are a number of examples of hyperbole in every day speech.

One of the most commonly used hyperboles in English is the word “literally” – a lot of people in modern-day speech make use of this word when they in reality mean the opposite, i.e., figuratively.

An instance would be “I was literally starving.”

In this case, the speaker is almost certainly not suffering from malnutrition, but instead was simply quite hungry, and therefore was only figuratively starving.

There were a few controversies lately when definition of the word “literally” was updated to include the definition “to admit that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.”

Therefore, “literally” has turn out to be one of the primary ways to overstate and hyperbolize a specific statement.

Below are a few more commonly used hyperboles in English Language:

The travel case weighed a ton.

I’m so angry, I could kill him!

I’ve asked you not to do that a thousand times.

If he doesn’t visit today, I will completely die.

She’s as lean as a toothpick.

My grandmother is as old as the hills.

Your suitcase weighs a ton!

She is as heavy as an elephant!

I am dying of shame.

I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

A few jokes as well take the form of hyperbole, like the “Your Mama” jokes.

For instance:

Your mama is so lazy she got a remote controller to operate her remote.

Your mama is so old her social security number is 1.

Your mama is so ugly they didn’t give her a costume when she auditioned for Star Wars.

Importance of Hyperbole in Literature

Writers make use of hyperbole to stir up strong feelings or stress a point. Hyperbole can be used to exaggerate any form of situation or emotion, and can be used amusingly or seriously.

Hyperbole is most frequently found in poetry, since poets make use of it to make comparisons and explain things in more overstated terms. Nevertheless, it is also usually used in prose and plays.

A hyperbole can as well be is a literary device wherein the author uses specific words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the basic core of the statement in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect.

The purpose of hyperbole is to generate an effect that is bigger than real life effect and overly stress a precise point.

Sentences like that are more often than not used to portray an action or sentiment that is by and large not just about/realistically possible or plausible but helps emphasize an emotion.

Example: 

“I am so tired I cannot walk another inch”

“I’m so sleepy I might fall asleep standing here”.

It is very significant not to confuse hyperbole with simile and metaphor. Although they could make a comparison, but hyperbole differs from simile and metaphor in that hyperbole produces a humorous effect produced by an overstatement.

Let us take a look at a few examples from Classical English literature in which hyperbole was utilized effectively.

Function of Hyperbole

The above arguments make clear the use of hyperbole. In our daily conversation, we use hyperbole to emphasize for an amusing effect.

However, in literature it has very serious implications. By using hyperbole, a writer or a poet makes widespread human feelings remarkable and intense to such an extent that they do not remain ordinary.

In literature, usage of hyperbole develops contrasts. When one thing is described with an over-statement and the other thing is presented by and large, a striking dissimilarity is created.

This modus operandi is employed to catch the reader’s attention.

Examples of Hyperbole from Literature

From William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, Act II, Scene II,

“Neptune’s ocean washes this blood

Clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather

The multitudinous seas incarnadine,

Making the green one red.”

Macbeth, the dreadful hero, feels the agonizing stab of his conscience after killing the king.

He regrets his sin and believes that even the oceans of the greatest size cannot wash the blood of the king off his hands.

We can observe the effective utilization of hyperboles in the given lines.

From W.H Auden’s poem “As I Walked One Evening”,

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet,

And the river jumps over the mountain

And the salmon sing in the street,

I’ll love you till the ocean

Is folded and hung up to dry

The use of hyperbole can be observed in the above lines. The meeting of China and Africa, the jumping of the river over the mountain, singing of salmon in the street, and the ocean being folded and hung up to be dried are exaggerations that couldn’t possibly happen in real life.

As a summary

A hyperbole is a literary device in which an author makes use of particular words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the fundamental crux of the statement in order to create a greater, more observable effect.

The aim of hyperbole is to create a larger-than-life effect and excessively stress a particular point.

Sentences normally pass on an action or sentiment that is normally not sensibly/pragmatically achievable or reasonable but assists to give emphasis to an emotion as would be seen in the following statement for instance – “I am so tired I cannot walk another inch” or “I’m so sleepy I might fall asleep standing here”.

Widespread Examples of Hyperbole

My grandmother is as old as the hills.

Your suitcase weighs a ton!

She is as heavy as an elephant!

I am dying of shame.

I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

It is significant not to confuse hyperbole with simile and metaphor. It does make a comparison but not like simile and metaphor, hyperbole has a humorous effect produced by an overstatement.

Thanks for reaching to this point marking the end of this lecture.

Your Lecture Master:

Mst. Ugonwanne Joshua