Hyperbole, examples of artistic exaggeration in literature. What is hyperbole, examples from literature and everyday life

06.05.2019

Statements framed as hyperbole in Russian are based on an assessment, as evidenced by the definition given below. To the question "What is hyperbole in Russian"?

Hyperbole - what is it? Definition, meaning, translation

1) Hyperbole in literature is an artistic technique, which consists in the deliberate exaggeration of the scale of the phenomenon in order to give the phrase more expressiveness and emotional intensity. A hyperbola is similar to a parabola, but differs from it in a formal definition.

The artistic persuasiveness and ambiguity of hyperbole are all the more significant, the more clearly the reader imagines the specific essence of the image or situation. By the way, the same goal can be pursued by understatement, litote, which can be considered as a kind of hyperbole, like hyperbole in the literature “with a minus sign”. Here, in literature, hyperbole takes on a symbolic sound, suggests a person in captivity in a multitude of insignificant passions and circumstances ... It is in a satirical work that hyperbole is most often appropriate and artistically justified. However, hyperbole in literature, even "ridiculing", may not be overtly satirical.

For example: We have not seen each other for a hundred years, - “a hundred years” in this case is a hyperbole (an exaggeration of the quantity), since it gives emotionality to the speech and is used, of course, in a figurative sense. Hyperbole is often confused with simile and metaphor because they also often compare two things. The main difference: hyperbole is always an exaggeration. For example: His legs were huge, like a barge. The example looks like a comparison, but remembering how much the barge weighs, you will see an exaggeration and, accordingly, a hyperbole in this case.

Any writing work contains a number of special stylistic devices, such as metaphor, comparison, grotesque or hyperbole. Comparison and metaphor, like hyperbole, compare objects and phenomena, but hyperbole is always an exaggeration. Remember, hyperbole in literature is a figurative expression, so don't take it literally.

Recently, hyperbole / litote has been actively used in the language of advertising. It is generally accepted that hyperbole is an exaggeration. 6. In other words, they do not correspond to the definitions of a hyperbole. One of the consequences is to recognize that hyperbole is uncharacteristic of colloquial speech, that it lives only in the sphere of literary and artistic creativity.

When is hyperbole used in the Bible?

Quite often, hyperbole is found in Holy Scripture in connection with the poetic style of narration. At the same time, in the Bible there are also such fragments, the content of which, although reminiscent of hyperbole, is only superficially comprehended.

Lexical hyperbole

Hyperbole is often combined with other stylistic devices, giving them the appropriate coloring: hyperbolic comparisons, metaphors, etc. (“the waves rose like mountains”). Hyperbole is also characteristic of the rhetorical, oratorical style, as a means of pathetic uplift, as well as the romantic style, where pathos is in contact with irony. Of the Russian authors, Gogol is especially prone to hyperbole, and of the poets, Mayakovsky. Hyperbole (rhetoric) - This term has other meanings, see Hyperbole.

To clearly understand what hyperbolas are in literature, you need to know the ways of implementing amplification inherent in the text of a work of art. Phraseological hyperbolas in the literature are stable expressions.

Language, as a phenomenon, often uses the same words to denote different concepts. Hyperbole is a figurative expression containing an exorbitant exaggeration of the size, strength, significance of an object, phenomenon. Hyperbole can be idealizing and destroying.

Language means are used to express hyperbole: words, combinations of words and sentences.

A hyperbola can be defined as a conic section with an eccentricity greater than one. Hyperbolas Under this name, a series of curved lines is known in analytic geometry. 1) G. of the second order, or the so-called Apollonian hyperbola. Hyperbolas in the Bible HYPERBOLES (Greek ὑπερβολή - exaggeration) IN THE BIBLE, art.

Most often, hyperbole can be found in epics. As a result, hyperbolic comparisons, metaphors, personifications are formed. Hyperbole is used to emphasize the idea being expressed and to enhance the effect of what has been said in the literature. Hyperbole is usually called a deliberate exaggeration in a literary work to enhance the effect of perception.

To make speech more vivid and expressive, people use figurative means of language and stylistic devices: metaphor, comparison, inversion, and others.

More than once I have heard, and even used, such a term as hyperbole.

Hyperbole in the literature is used, as a rule, in order to designate a stylistic device of a particular exaggeration of the properties of the described phenomenon or object, thereby enhancing the impression made.

In this article, I invite my readers to venture into the fascinating world of their mother tongue. After reviewing the information provided here, you can get answers to the following questions:

  1. What does the concept of hyperbole in literature include?
  2. For what purpose is it used?
  3. Do we often, without noticing it ourselves, use this

I decided to divide the article into three parts: first, to tell in more detail about the etymology of the word itself, then we will talk about the history and reasons for the emergence of the concept itself, and, finally, you will learn about the role of hyperbole in modern style.

Part 1. Etymology and modern definition of the word

So, first of all, let's delve into the history. From the point of view of etymology, the word of Greek origin "hyperbole" consists of two parts "hyper" and "bole". The first is translated into Russian as “over”, “through” or “too”, the second can be interpreted as “throw”, “throwing”, “throwing”. From about the 18th century, the word "hyperbole" signified by "exaggeration" appears and begins to be widely used in Latin.

There is also an opposite term - litote. And if hyperbole in literature implies "exaggeration", then litotes, on the contrary, are used for deliberate understatement.

For example, phraseologisms “a sea of ​​smells”, “an ocean of love”, “have not seen each other for a hundred years” can act as a hyperbole, “with a thimble”, “at hand” as a litote.

Part 2. Reasons for the emergence of the term

It is probably hard to imagine that the desire to overly exaggerate both the value and the physical features of an object originated in human thinking back in the days of the primitive communal system. Of course, the judgments of the first people on the planet differed significantly from the train of thought of today's people. In those distant times, there was simply no clear line between fiction and real-life concepts. As you know, many centuries ago, hunters animated the world around them, leaders, animals, natural phenomena. They endowed them with supernatural powers, such as incredible size, magical powers, excessive dexterity, and a quirky mind. Why? This process was simply inevitable, because. was the result of a huge dependence on the forces of nature, a misunderstanding of its laws, an inability to master everything that happens, or the inability to explain to oneself the causes of an event. As a result, there was fear, a feeling of defenselessness, dependence, and as a result - imaginary gratitude, admiration, surprise and exaggeration.

Part 3. Hyperbole. Literature classical and modern

In order to give artistic expressiveness to the work, the authors try to use various metaphors, comparisons, epithets and hyperbole are considered the most common among them. Currently, such as hyperbole is used, based on the interaction of the emotional and logical meanings of the same word.

I will give examples of hyperbole in the literature: “This has already been said a thousand times” (the number is exaggerated), “The enemies are smashed to smithereens” (quality), “He left, and the world ceased to exist for her” (emotions).

Sometimes it is very difficult not to confuse hyperbole with comparison or metaphor, since they also often compare two objects. Remember that hyperbole in literature always means exaggeration. Say, "His feet were as big as skis." At first glance, this example resembles a comparison, but remembering what the actual length of the skis is, you can understand that this is an exaggeration, which means hyperbole.

The author usually resorts to this stylistic device to enhance the impression or sharpen the image. Modern realities also require the use of hyperbole in order to enhance the effect of influencing the imagination or attracting attention.

The Russian language today is one of the ten most beautiful and, according to linguists, it contains about half a million words, not including professionalisms and dialects. Great Russian writers contributed to the development of the Russian literary language, thanks to which the language was replenished with artistic and expressive means that are used in writing and in speech today.

The development of the Russian literary language and the first paths

The literary Russian language began to take shape as early as the 11th century, during the existence of the state of Kievan Rus. Then the first chronicles and masterpieces of ancient Russian literature were created. A thousand years ago, the authors used language (tropes): personification, epithet, metaphor, hyperbole and litote. Examples of these terms are still common both in fiction and in everyday speech.

The concepts of "hyperbole" and "litote"

Having heard the term “hyperbole” for the first time, connoisseurs of history will surely correlate it with the legendary country of Hyperborea, and mathematicians will remember the line consisting of two branches, which is called hyperbole. But how does this term relate to literature? Hyperbole is used to enhance the expressiveness of the statement and intentional exaggeration. It is easy to guess that this term has an antonym, because if the language has means for exaggeration, there must certainly be a stylistic figure that serves as an understatement. Litota is such an artistic and expressive means. The following examples will clearly show what a litote is and how often it is used in speech.

A thousand year history of hyperbole

Hyperbole is very often found in ancient Russian literature, for example, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign: "To that in Polotsk I called the morning bell, early at St. Sophia's bells, and he heard the ringing in Kiev." Analyzing the sentence, one can understand the meaning: the sound of the bell that rang in Polotsk reached Kyiv! Of course, in reality this cannot be, otherwise the inhabitants of nearby settlements would lose their hearing. The term is of Latin origin: hyperbole means "exaggeration" in translation. Hyperbole was used by almost all poets and writers, but Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin stood out especially for its frequent use in their works. So, in Gogol's play "The Inspector General" on the table was "a watermelon worth seven hundred rubles" - another exaggeration, because a watermelon cannot cost so much if it is, of course, not golden. In Mayakovsky's "Extraordinary Adventure", the sunset was blazing "one hundred and forty suns", that is, incredibly bright.

Litota in fiction

Having found out the meaning of the hyperbole, it will not be difficult to figure out the litote. This term was also often referred to by Gogol. In the story "Nevsky Prospekt" he described the mouth of one person so small that he could not miss more than two pieces. In Nikolai Nekrasov's famous poem "Peasant Children", the hero is a man the size of a fingernail, but this does not mean his height is a centimeter: the author only wanted to emphasize with a litote that an old, short man was carrying a heavy armful of firewood. Proposals with litotes can also be found in other authors. By the way, this term comes from the Greek word litotes, which means "simplicity, restraint."

Litota and hyperbole in everyday speech

A person, without noticing it, uses hyperbole and litotes in everyday life very often. If you can still guess the meaning of hyperbole thanks to the well-known one-root verb “hyperbolize”, what is a litote remains a mystery to many. Having gone bankrupt, the rich man will say: “I have money - the cat cried,” and when you see a tiny girl walking down the street, you can notice what a “inch” she is, and if it’s a little guy, “a boy with a finger.” These are the most common examples of litotes. Each of us also uses hyperbole very often, for example, having met a friend by chance, the first remark will be “have not seen each other for a hundred years”, and the mother, tired of making the same remark to her fidget-son, will say: “I told you a thousand times!” . So, we can once again conclude that not everyone knows what litote and hyperbole are, but even a three-year-old child uses these techniques.

Cultural significance of the trails

The role of stylistic figures in the Russian language is great: they give emotional coloring, enhance images and make speech more expressive. Without them, the works of Pushkin and Lermontov would have lost their splendor, and now you can use beautiful turns of speech more confidently, because you know, for example, what a litote is.

In literature, it is impossible to do without these techniques that make the Russian language one of the most expressive, complex and rich. So take care of the Russian language - this treasure, this property, as Turgenev and our other outstanding compatriots bequeathed to us.

    Hyperbole is an exaggeration. We meet with her, both in colloquial speech and in literature.

    Hyperbole is designed to enhance the expressiveness of the statement in order to show its special significance.

    This reception was highly favored by Mayakovsky.

    Here's another example:

    Hyperbole is used to create brightness in text and is mainly needed to give expressiveness to text. Hyperbole deliberately greatly exaggerates an idea or object that it looks beyond almost beyond the real. Hyperbole should be applied appropriately to the topic.

    Hyperbole (in literature) is a kind of literary device, the meaning of which is a figurative exaggeration of a particular action as a whole. For example: I have already said this a thousand and one times, that is, there is an excessive exaggeration in this sentence, since a normal person will not repeat any word or expression a thousand times.

    Hyperbole is a stylistic figure of explicit and intentional exaggeration, in order to enhance expressiveness and underline what was said.

    Hyperbole is an exaggeration in a text. With the help of hyperbole, the author enhances the necessary impression, emphasizes what he glorifies or ridicules.

    I to you a hundred times said!

    Hyperbole, including in literature, is an exaggeration of some property or quality. For example, in the literature, there is such an expression as dark, at least gouge out your eyes. This is just hyperbole.

    Hyperbole means exaggeration. This is the name of a literary device, the essence of which is the deliberate exaggeration of the qualities or properties of the described object or character in order to enhance the impression of the reader. For example, the famous Gogol rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper - hyperbole. It is clear that any bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper, but Gogol's technique emphasizes the greatness and power of the river.

    I personally believe that the use of hyperbole in literature and especially literature for children is simply necessary. Otherwise it will be boring to read. And some works simply would not have been born. In many works, this is simply necessary to emphasize the strength and scale of actions.

    Hyperbole can be called an exaggeration (to put it simply). Writers use this technique to express emotions more, to enhance the impression.

    Example of hyperbole (exaggeration):

    I've said this a million times already!

    Very often you can find this technique in folk art (for example, in epics and fairy tales).

    Under such a concept as hyperbole in the literature is meant an exaggeration of various kinds. Very many if not all works contain at least some exaggeration. An example of a hyperbole would be the following:

    The dog was the size of a huge tower.

    Hyperbole is an exaggeration. For example, Ilya Muromets, fighting with enemies, beat the entire enemy army. One person cannot do this. So the author used hyperbole. Hyperbole is used to interest the reader, to enhance the expressiveness of the text, to emphasize some details.

    Word hyperbola came into Russian from Greek (hyperbole) and in the language of the source means an exaggeration. In linguistics term hyperbole called an excessive exaggeration of the properties and qualities of an object or phenomenon to create a vivid expressive image. For example: we have known each other for a hundred years, rivers of blood, I have been waiting for ages, always late, I have said it a hundred times, etc.

    Examples of hyperbole from fiction:

The meaning of the word HYPERBOLE in the Literary Encyclopedia

HYPERBOLA

[Greek - ????????] - a stylistic figure of explicit and deliberate exaggeration, aimed at enhancing expressiveness, for example. "I've said it a thousand times." Hyperbole is often combined with other stylistic devices, giving them the appropriate coloring: hyperbolic comparisons, metaphors, etc. (“the waves rose like mountains”). The character or situation depicted can also be hyperbolic. G. is also characteristic of the rhetorical, oratorical style, as a means of pathetic rise, as well as

538 romantic style, where pathos comes into contact with irony. Of the Russian authors, Gogol is especially inclined to gogol, and of the latest poets, Mayakovsky (see Stylistics).

Literary encyclopedia. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is HYPERBOLE in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

  • HYPERBOLA in the Dictionary of Fine Art Terms:
    - (from the Greek hyperbole - excess, exaggeration) a stylistic, artistic device based on the exaggeration of a real sign, to which the impossible in reality are attributed ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Dictionary of Literary Terms:
    - (from Greek hyperbole - exaggeration, excess) - type of trail: excessive exaggeration of feelings, values, size, beauty, etc. described ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    (from Greek hyperbole - exaggeration) a kind of trail based on exaggeration ("rivers of blood"). Wed …
  • HYPERBOLA in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
    - a rhetorical figure of exaggeration (or, on the contrary, humiliation) of truth, as, for example, in the expressions "blood flowed in streams", "sweat rolled in hail". Intentional humiliation...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  • HYPERBOLA
    (from the Greek hyperbole - exaggeration), a poetic device: a kind of trope based on exaggeration ("rivers of blood"). Compare...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    I s, f. A stylistic figure consisting in figurative exaggeration. Hyperbolic - characterized by hyperbole, characteristic of hyperbole. Hyperbolize - exaggerate. | Examples...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    , -s, w. In poetics: a word or expression containing an exaggeration to create an artistic image; generally an exaggeration. II...
  • HYPERBOLA
    HYPERBOLA (from Greek hyperbol; - exaggeration), a kind of trail, osn. on exaggeration ("rivers of blood"). Wed Litota ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
    HYPERBOLA (Greek hyperbol;), a plane curve (2nd order), consisting of two infinite branches. G. - a set of points M, the difference in distances ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron:
    ? a rhetorical figure of exaggeration (or, on the contrary, humiliation) of the truth, as, for example, in the expressions "blood flowed in streams", "sweat rolled in hail". Intentional humiliation...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Full accentuated paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
    hype "rbola, hype" rbola, hype "rbola, hype" rbol, hype "rbole, hype" rbolam, hype "rbolu, hype" rbola, hype "rbola, hype" rbola, hype "rbolami, hype" rbole, ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Dictionary of Linguistic Terms:
    A figurative expression containing an exorbitant exaggeration of the size, strength, value, etc. of any object, phenomenon. In a hundred and forty suns the sunset was blazing...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Popular Explanatory-Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
    -s, well. , lit. Figurative expression, excessive exaggeration of certain properties of the depicted object or phenomenon. Examples of hyperbole: wine poured ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Thesaurus of Russian business vocabulary:
  • HYPERBOLA in the New Dictionary of Foreign Words:
    1) (gr. hyperbole) a stylistic figure consisting in figurative exaggeration, for example. : they swept a haystack above the clouds or the wine flowed like a river ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Russian Thesaurus:
    ‘literary device’ Syn: exaggeration, hyperbolization (book), exaggeration (book) Ant: understatement, ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Dictionary of synonyms of Abramov:
    cm. …
  • HYPERBOLA in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
    curve, exaggeration, reception, ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
    1. g. 1) A stylistic device, consisting in the excessive exaggeration of some. qualities or properties of the depicted object, phenomenon, etc. with the aim of …
  • HYPERBOLA in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
    hyperbole, ...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
    hyperbole...
  • HYPERBOLA in the Spelling Dictionary:
    hyperbole, ...


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