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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
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Wild Delusion:
In Chapter 12, Nicholas must reject the advances of one Fanny Squeers, who is convinced that the two are destined for one another. Though Nicholas tries to reject her kindly, he eventually finds himself driven to make a more emphatic statement of protest. Doing so, he employs hyperbole:
‘Stop,’ cried Nicholas hurriedly; ‘pray hear me. This is the grossest and wildest delusion, the completest and most signal mistake, that ever human being laboured under or committed. I have scarcely seen the young lady half a dozen times, but if I had seen her sixty times, or am destined to see her sixty thousand, it would be and will be precisely the same.'
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Excitable:
In Chapter 27, Mr. Wititterly remarks on his wife's behavior to Sir Mulberry, downplaying and undermining Mrs. Wititterly by simply describing her nature as "excitable." During his remarks, Mr. Wititterly employs hyperbole in an attempt to discredit Mrs. Wititterly's emotions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Julia, my dear, you must not allow yourself to be too much excited, you must not. Indeed you must not. Mrs Wititterly is of a most excitable nature, Sir Mulberry. The snuff of a candle, the wick of a lamp, the bloom on a peach, the down on a butterfly. You might blow her away, my lord; you might blow her away.
Chapter 45
Explanation and Analysis—Smike, Squeers, and Love:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 45, Dickens utilizes hyperbole in character dialogue to emphasize the antagonistic relationship between Smike, Snawley, and Squeers:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘You, sir,’ said Snawley, addressing the terrified Smike, ‘are an unnatural, ungrateful, unloveable boy. You won’t let me love you when I want to. Won’t you come home – won’t you?’
‘No, no, no,’ cried Smike, shrinking back.
‘He never loved nobody,’ bawled Squeers, through the keyhole. ‘He never loved me; he never loved Wackford, who is next door but one to a cherubim.'
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