At the beginning of Act 4, Scene 1, Grumio complains about his weariness, soliloquizing to the observing audience. In this passage, Shakespeare utilizes tactile imagery and hyperbole to further provide the audience with insight into Grumio's character:
GRUMIO: Fie, fie on all tired jades, on all mad masters, and
all foul ways! Was ever man so beaten? Was ever man so
'rayed? Was ever man so weary? I am sent before to make
a fire, and they are coming after to warm them. Now,
were not I a little pot and soon hot, my very lips might
freeze to my teeth, my tongue to the roof of my mouth,
my heart in my belly, ere I should come by a fire to
thaw me. But I with blowing the fire shall warm myself.
For, considering the weather, a taller man than I will
take cold.—
Grumio paints a vivid picture of his surroundings, conveying the skin-deep penetration of cold weather in the line "were I not a little pot and soon hot, my very lips might / freeze to my teeth." This statement makes use of tactile imagery and is also hyperbolic: it is highly unlikely that Grumio would be outside in such a ferocious and dangerous kind of cold. Nonetheless, this tactile imagery characterizes Grumio for the audience. He is a bit ridiculous—a character who overstates situations, confuses words, and provides comic relief.
