'Hyperbole' is derived from theAncient Greek:ὑπερβολήhuperbolḗ by way of Latin. The word is composed fromὑπέρhupér 'above, beyond' andβάλλωbállō 'throw'.
Unlike most English words beginning withhyper-, it is stressed on the second syllable. The first known use is in the 15th century.[3][4]
Hyperbole is often used for emphasis or effect. In casual speech, it functions as anintensifier:[5][3] saying "the bag weighed a ton"[6] simply means that the bag was extremely heavy.[7] The rhetorical device may be used for serious or ironic or comic effects.[8] Understanding hyperbole and its use in context can help understand the speaker's point. Hyperbole generally conveys feelings or emotions from the speaker, or from those who the speaker may talk about. It can be used in a form of humor, excitement, distress, and many other emotions, all depending on thecontext in which the speaker uses it.[9]
Hyperbole is one of the most widely recognized and used forms of figurative language in everyday life. It is used heavily in advertising and entertainment. Advertisers use hyperbole to exaggerate the benefits of products to boost sales. Repetitive hyperbole is used inpublic relations to increase the popularity of a person or product. It is also used in propaganda, giving it a bad reputation.[citation needed]
Hyperbole has been used throughout literature for many centuries.Heroic drama, which is drama with an emphasis on grandeur and excess, often makes use of hyperbole to extend the effect and epic nature of the genre. Moderntall tales also make use of hyperbole to exaggerate the feats and characteristics of their protagonists. For example, the American tall tale aboutPaul Bunyan relies heavily on hyperbole to establish Bunyan's giant stature and abilities.[11]
For hyperbole to be effective it needs to be obvious, deliberate, and outlandish. Using hyperbolic speech as a character trait can denote an unreliable narrator.
Emerson'sConcord Hymn uses hyperbole in the lines "Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world."
InKurt Vonnegut'sSlaughterhouse-Five, the protagonist emerges from his shelter to find total destruction, and makes the hyperbolic statement that "Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals." The hyperbole conveys how completely the city was ruined.
One of the most frequently used hyperboles in English is the wordliterally. It became a controversial issue when millennials began to convoluteliterally by using the word to artificially substantiate a position.[12] Many dictionaries now document the meaning as "to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling". Hence,literally has become one of the primary ways to exaggerate and hyperbolize a statement.[13]
