Hyperbole

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is the use of obvious and deliberate exaggeration. Hyperbolic statements are often extravagant and not meant to be taken literally. These statements are used to create a strong impression and add emphasis. We use hyperbole frequently in everyday language, saying things like “I’m so hungry I could eat a cow,” or “We had to wait forever for the bus.” Hyperbole sometimes makes use simile or metaphor to create the effect of exaggeration, such as “He’s as strong as an ox.”

Common Examples of Hyperbole

-      My grandmother is as old as the hills.

-      My bag 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.

-      The suitcase 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 call by tonight, I will absolutely die.

-      She’s as skinny as a toothpick.

-      I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

-       I have a million things to do.

-       I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill.

-       I had a ton of homework.

-       If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.

-      This car goes faster than the speed of light.

-       That new car costs a bazillion dollars.

-       We are so poor; we don’t have two cents to rub together.

-       That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur.

-       They ran like greased lightning.

-       He’s got tons of money.

-       You could have knocked me over with a feather.

-       Her brain is the size of a pea.

Some jokes also take advantage of hyperbole, like the “Your Mama” jokes. For example:

      -       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.

Hyperbole in Media and Literature

If used properly , Hyperbole may encourage consumers to buy a product .

Marketing research of Roger J. Kreuz , PhD for military personnel Science Research Workshop in June 2001 in Memphis TN , has shown that 75 % of ads using at least one figuratively.

Examples of Hyperbole in advertising include:

" Adds amazing luster for infinite , mirror -like shine ". ( Brilliant Brunette shampoo )

“ It doesn’t get better than this”

It is important not to confuse hyperbole with simile and metaphor. It does make a comparison but unlike simile and metaphor, hyperbole has a humorous effect created by an overstatement.

Let us see some examples from Classical English literature in which hyperbole was used successfully.

Example in Literature

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 noticed 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 not possible in real life.

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 common 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 normally, a striking contrast is developed. This technique is employed to catch the reader’s attention.

Sources:

http://literarydevices.net/hyperbole/

http://www.literarydevices.com/hyperbole/