HYPERBOLE

Hyperbole

A.    Defenition

    
 In hyperbole a statement is made emphatic by overstatement (Wren & Malik 1995:229).

According to Diyani (2004:563), hyperbole is a exaggeration; understatement.  In additional, hyperbole is a figure of speech which greatly exaggerated the truth (Webster. 1994:476). Hornby (2000:418) affirms that hyperbole issue of exaggerated statement made for effect and not intended to be taken literally.

   Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting” is a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, 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 statement to add emphasis to your wait.  Therefore, a hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation. Some other common Hyperbole examples are given below.

Common example of hyperbola

a)      My grandmother is as old the hills

b)      Your suitcase weighs a ton

c)      She is as heavy an elephant!

d)     I am dying of shame

e)      I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

     It is important not to confuse hyperbola with simile and metaphor. It does make a comparison but unlike simile and metaphor, hyperbola has a humorous effect created by an overstatement. Let us see some examples from classical English literature in which hyperbola was used successfully.

1.      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 uses of hyperbola 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.

2.      From “Adventure of Pinocchio” written by C. Colloid,

“He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills.”

The crying of Pinocchio all night until his tears became dry is an example of Hyperbole.

3.      From Joseph Conrad’s novel “The Heart of Darkness”

“I had to wait in the station for ten days-an eternity.”

      The wait f ten days seemed to last forever and never end.

B.     Function of Hyperbole

The above arguments make clear the use of Hyperbola. In our daily conversation, we use hyperbole to emphasize for an amusing effect. However, in literature it has very serious implications. By using hyperbola, 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.

Reference

https://literarydevices.net/hyperbole/

http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/figurative-language/figurative-language-examples/hyperbole-examples

https://www.gogle.com/searchq=experts+that+explain+hyperbole+of+figurlative%2flanguag&client=ucweb-b&channel+sb