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Hyperbole
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Book 4, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Cooling:
In this passage from Book 4, Chapter 2, Eustacia and Clym have a candid conversation about the deterioration of their marriage, foreshadowing its demise. Hardy employs a metaphor of temperature change and a related idiom to convey the shifting dynamics between these characters:
‘[..] How cold you seem this afternoon! and yet I used to think there never was a warmer heart than yours.’
‘Yes, I fear we are cooling—I see it as well as you,’ she sighed mournfully.
‘And how madly we loved two months ago! You were never tired of contemplating me, nor I of contemplating you. [...]
Related Themes:
