Literature is rich in means of artistic expression, which help authors in the best way to convey their thoughts to the reader. So, when studying the works of classics, students look for epithets, comparisons, personifications in them and try to figure out why the writer used this or that technique. Hyperbole also belongs to the artistic means, which we will consider.
Definition
Consider what is a hyperbole, examples of which will be given below. This is a special artistic device, deliberate exaggeration, which allows achieving the effect necessary for the author. The term is very ancient, the technique began to be used in the era of antiquity. To express hyperbole, language means are used: words, word combinations and sentences.
The simplest examples
Widely used hyperbole in Russian. Examples will show that often we use this technique without even paying attention. For example, the words "I already told you a thousand times!". In this case, “a thousand times” is an exaggeration, because the author of the statement, in the first place, hardly said anything so many times. Secondly, she did not count the number of her repetitions. Another example of hyperbole in the Russian language: "We have not seen each other for a hundred years." Here we are talking about the fact that people have not met for a long period of time, but certainly not a hundred years.
Having said that he has a million problems, the person will emphasize the fact that he now has a black line in his life, and we are not talking about a clear quantitative description of the problems. There are many similar examples:
- “There are a hundred reasons why I am still striving to get an education.”
- "Grandfather has a thousand sores, but he is still working in the garden."
- “You will not believe yesterday saw such a big man. Not a man, but an elephant. " Here the hyperbola is connected to the comparison element. Man is likened to an elephant by weight parameter.
- "Sit, work, make a million!" This example clearly sounds ironic. The speaker greatly exaggerates the earnings opportunities of his opponent, mockingly mocking him.
- “You say Masha didn’t go to college? Yes, everyone knows that! ” The example presents a lexical hyperbole; exaggeration is achieved through the phrase "everyone knows." It is clear that this is not so, because residents of another city may not be aware of the Mashin problems, and they are not interested in them.
Often, without paying attention, we use a hyperbola. The examples in Russian above cite this point.
Varieties
There are several types of hyperbole in the Russian language:
- Lexical. Exaggeration is achieved by using the words “perfectly”, “everything”, “absolutely”. For example, a completely useless person, everyone has long known this.
- Metaphorical. This is a catchy comparison. For example, a forest of hands, golden mountains.
- Phraseological. Use of persistent word combinations. For example, a goat is understandable.
- Quantitative. Using numbers: a million cases, thousands of ideas.
All these types of exaggerations can be used by native speakers unknowingly, not perceived as an artistic and stylistic device.
Modern options
Young people often use hyperbole in their speech. There are many examples in the Russian language:
- “We have already passed this 100500 times! Is it really hard to remember? ”
- “We still have a wagon and a small cart of time, we’ll do everything.”
Such statements make speech more imaginative and expressive.
From fiction
Often, writers use hyperbole. Examples from the literature are quite diverse. So, very often Pushkin addressed this reception: “All the flags will be with us.”
When creating the image of Russia, Yesenin used an exaggeration: "Do not see the end and the edge, only blue sucks his eyes."
There are hyperbolas in Mayakovsky’s lyrics:
- “In battle I praise millions, I see millions, I sing millions.”
- The poem Cloud in Pants concludes in a very interesting way, based on an exaggeration: “Hey, you! Sky! Take off your hat! I'm coming! ” This helps the poet to express the strength and power of the human person.
- Often, the poet exaggerates the size of the human body, creating a capacious and sharp satirical image: "Two arshins of a faceless pink dough, a head in Kazbek, a stomach in a moat."
There are several interesting examples of hyperbole in the Russian language, when exaggeration concerns inanimate objects: baobabs to heaven, a sting per kilometer.
Often, for the effect of exaggeration, the poet uses words in a figurative sense: lump, carcass. Or combinations of words that individually do not have a similar property, but put together create hyperbolization: glasses, bicycles, eyes, two meadows.
An example of a hyperbole from literature can also be found in the works of other writers: “bloomers, the width of the Black Sea” (Gogol), “we prepared an escape for four years, we saved three tons of grubs” (Vysotsky).
We examined what a hyperbole is, and examples of its use by word masters. This technique makes it possible to make the speech of writers figurative and more expressive, to draw the reader's attention to any property or feature of the described subject or person. Also, it was deliberate exaggeration that often helped the author express his attitude to what was happening.