Hyperbole is an exaggerated figure of speech used to add color to sentences in literature or everyday speech. It can become cliché but is still used by artists and public speakers to make their points. Famous purveyors include Shakespeare and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Writing about the uses of hyperbole can be as hard as tying a star or as easy as pie, depending on a person’s mastery of rhetorical language and playfulness of spirit. A hyperbole is an exaggerated figure of speech, not by literal translation but by effect. Derived from the Greek word for exaggeration, hyperbole can be used in a variety of ways to add color to sentences, whether they are part of a work of literature or ordinary speech.
Common uses of hyperbole punctuate the lexicon and often become clichés, which are usually frowned upon in original literary works. A person might say “Those two are as thick as thieves” or “The bag weighs a ton.” It is understood that the bag doesn’t weigh literally a ton, but that it is very heavy. Another example is “That man is stupid as a rock.”
Despite the potential cliché, which amounts to mainstream abuse, hyperbole is a tool used by many artists and public speakers to make their points. This can range from simple narrative use of hyperbole to strike a certain mood or historical era to poetry that moves the mind to new heights of emotion and understanding. Unfortunately, the more effective and time-honored the execution of a certain hyperbole, the greater its potential to become clichéd and thrown out of favor with critics.
When a certain hyperbole is first used, it is often when its novelty is most effective, original, and challenging. The first writers or public speakers to say they went mad or nearly died laughing won the most fans. Recent uses of the phrases, however, could be panned as derivative and unimaginative.
Many famous purveyors of hyperbole are household names, from Shakespeare to the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote in The Concord Hymn: “Here once the warring peasants stood / And fired the shot heard all over the world.” The play also benefits from the hyperbole’s emphasis on exaggeration for effect: “Your mother is so poor she can’t even afford to pay attention.”
However, everyday conversation is where the most hyperbole is used. A person might tell his neighbor that his headache is roaring like a freight train; a boss might inform an employee that his report is due yesterday when everyone knows it’s tomorrow. A wife might want her spouse to know how her attitude is really starting to irritate her.
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