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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 Crime and Punishment
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—From the Air Alone:
Dostoevesky employs imagery, simile, and hyperbole in his description of the bar where Raskolnikov first meets former government official Semyon Marmeladov:
The proprietor of the establishment was in another room, but frequently came into the main room, descending a flight of stairs from somewhere [...] He was wearing a long-skirted coat and a terribly greasy black satin waistcoat, with no necktie, and his whole face was as if oiled like an iron padlock [...] There were chopped pickles, rusks of black bread, and fish cut into pieces, all quite evil-smelling. It was so stuffy that it was almost impossible to sit there, and everything was so saturated with wine-smell that it seemed one could get drunk in five minutes from the air alone.
