Wednesday, June 24, 2009

METHOD OF HUMOR: Hyperbole


Hyperbole (pronounced hye-PER-bə-lee) comes from ancient Greek "ὑπερβολή" (meaning excess or exaggeration) and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally.

Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is a literary device often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. It is also a visual technique in which a deliberate exaggeration of a particular part of an image is employed. An example is the exaggeration of a person's facial feature in a political cartoon.

I've told you a million times, stop exaggerating. (I've told you many times not to exaggerate.)

No comments:

Post a Comment