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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Hyperbole
Explanation and Analysis—Louisa’s Lacy Home:
When Joe is reflecting on his visits to Louisa’s home, the narrator uses hyperbole and a metaphor to capture his view of Louisa’s decorations:
He came twice a week to see Louisa Ellis, and every time, sitting there in her delicately sweet room, he felt as if surrounded by a hedge of lace. He was afraid to stir lest he should put a clumsy foot or hand through the fairy web, and he had always the consciousness that Louisa was watching fearfully lest he should.
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Explanation and Analysis—Joe’s Presence:
The first time that Joe visits Louisa at her home in the story, the narrator uses a hyperbole to capture Joe’s large presence, as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+In about half an hour Joe Dagget came. She heard his heavy step on the walk, and rose and took off her pink-and-white apron […] She had barely folded the [apron] with methodical haste and laid it in a table-drawer when the door opened and Joe Dagget entered.
He seemed to fill up the whole room.
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