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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
Key Examples in A Streetcar Named Desire
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Merciless Glare:
Stella uses hyperbole when she greets Stella for the first time, distracting her sister from looking at her too closely with an anxious, flapping fuss over the quality of the light in the Kowalski's apartment.
BLANCHE: Now then, let me look at you. But don’t you look at me, Stella, no, no, no, not till I’ve bathed and rested, and turn that over-light off! Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in that merciless glare!
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Explanation and Analysis—Ulalume:
In this passage from Scene 1 of the play, Blanche uses an allusion and hyperbole to express her disdain for Stella's dingy New Orleans apartment. After her arduous journey on the streetcars of Now Orleans, when she sees Stella for the first time she exclaims:
Unlock with LitCharts A+BLANCHE: Only Poe! Only Mr. Edgar Allan Poe!—could do it justice! Out there I suppose is the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir!"
Related Themes:
Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Here's Your Plantation!:
Stanley's suspicion of Blanche’s past foreshadows his obsessive rooting-out of all she is hiding. When she arrives in New Orleans, he goes through her suitcase, showing jewels and furs to Stella and yelling hyperbolically:
Unlock with LitCharts A+STANLEY: I've got an acquaintance who deals in this sort of merchandise. I'll have him check on it...Here’s your plantation, or what’s left of it, here!
Related Themes:
Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Brutes!:
Blanche’s impassioned, exaggerated plea to Stella not to stoop to Stanley’s level uses metaphors and hyperbole to drive her point across. As part of her tirade against Stanley and his “kind,” Blanche cries:
Unlock with LitCharts A+BLANCHE: In some kinds of people some tenderer feelings have had some little beginning! That we have got to make grow! And cling to, and hold as our flag! In this dark march toward whatever it is we’re approaching...Don’t—don’t hang back with the brutes!
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