Hyperbole ~ Minangkabau Boy

Hyperbole

What is 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.”

Dalam bahasa indonesia Majas hiperbola sendiri artikan sebagai ungkapan atau gaya bahasa yang berlebih-lebihan dalam mengibaratkan sesuatu. Wal hasil ungkapan tersebut akan terasa tidak masuk akal dan bertentangan dengan keadaan yang sesungguhnya. Hal ini dimaksudkan agar pendengar atau pembaca menaruh perhatian lebih.

Common 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.
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.

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.

Significance of Hyperbole in Literature

Authors use hyperbole to evoke strong feelings or emphasize a point. Hyperbole can be used to overstate any type of situation or emotion, and can be used humorously or seriously. Hyperbole is most often found in poetry, as poets use it to make comparisons and describe things in more embellished terms. However, it is commonly used in prose and plays as well.

Examples of Hyperbole in Literature

Example:

The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
If not from my love’s breath?

(“Sonnet 99” by William Shakespeare)

In this sonnet, Shakespeare imagines that the sweet smell of a violet has come from his lover’s breath. This is a clear overstatement, as it is impossible for nature to have taken its smell from the lover. In fact, his lover’s breath is almost surely not as sweet-smelling as a violet, yet Shakespeare’s love overcomes reason. This hyperbole example gives us greater insight into Shakespeare’s all-encompassing love for the subject of the poem.

Hyperbole can be used in a form of humour, excitement, distress, and many other emotions, all depending on the context in which the speaker uses it.