Examples of hyperbole in literary works. Difference from similar linguistic means

April 7, 2014

The Russian language today is one of the ten most beautiful and, according to linguists, it has about half a million words, not including professionalisms and dialects. Great Russian writers contributed to the development of Russian literary language, thanks to which the language was replenished with artistic and expressive means that are used in writing and speech today.

Development of the Russian literary language and the first trails

The literary Russian language began to take shape in the 11th century, during the period of the existence of the state Kievan Rus. Then the first chronicles and masterpieces of ancient Russian literature were created. Even a thousand years ago, authors used artistic and expressive means of language (tropes): personification, epithet, metaphor, hyperbole and litotes. Examples of these terms are still common today, both in fiction, and in everyday speech.

The concepts of "hyperbole" and "litotes"

Having heard the term “hyperbole” for the first time, history experts will probably associate it with the legendary country of Hyperborea, and mathematicians will remember a line consisting of two branches, which is called hyperbole. But how does this term relate to literature? Hyperbole is stylistic figure, which is used to enhance the expressiveness of a statement and deliberate exaggeration. It is not difficult to guess that this term has an antonym, because if a language has means for exaggeration, there must certainly be a stylistic figure that serves for understatement. Such an artistic and expressive means is litotes. The following examples will clearly show what litotes is and how often it is used in speech.

Video on the topic

The thousand-year history of hyperbole

Hyperbole is very common in ancient Russian literature, for example, in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “To him in Polotsk he rang the morning bells, early at St. Sophia’s the bells rang, and he heard the ringing in Kiev.” Analyzing the sentence, you can understand the meaning: the sound of the bell that rang in Polotsk reached Kyiv! Of course, in reality this cannot be, otherwise the residents of nearby settlements would lose their hearing. The term is of Latin origin: hyperbole means “exaggeration.” Hyperbole was used by almost all poets and writers, but especially frequent use Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin stood out in their works. So, in Gogol’s play “The Inspector General” there was “a watermelon worth seven hundred rubles” on the table - another exaggeration, because a watermelon cannot cost that much, unless, of course, it is gold. In Mayakovsky’s “An Extraordinary Adventure,” the sunset glowed “as high as one hundred and forty suns,” that is, incredibly bright.

Litotes in fiction

Having found out the meaning of a hyperbole, it will not be at all difficult to figure out what litotes is. Gogol also often referred to this term. In the story “Nevsky Prospekt,” he described one man’s mouth as so small that he could not miss more than two pieces. At Nikolai Nekrasov's famous poem“Peasant Children” the hero is a little man, but this does not mean he is a centimeter tall: with the litote the author only wanted to emphasize that the old short man was carrying a heavy armful of firewood. Sentences with litotes can also be found in other authors. By the way, this term comes from Greek word litotes, which means "simplicity, restraint."

Litotes and hyperbole in everyday speech

A person, without noticing it, uses hyperbole and litotes in everyday life very often. If you can still guess the meaning of hyperbole thanks to the well-known cognate verb “to hyperbolize,” what litotes is remains a mystery to many. Having gone broke, a rich man will say: “I have no money - the cat cried,” and when he sees a tiny girl walking down the street, you can notice what a “thumbelina” she is, and if she is a little guy, “a tom-thumb.” These are the most common examples of litotes. Each of us also uses hyperbole very often, for example, having met a friend by chance, the first remark will be “haven’t seen each other for a hundred years,” and a mother, tired of making the same remark to her fidgety son, will say: “I told you a thousand times!” . So, we can once again conclude that not everyone knows what litotes and hyperbole are, but even a three-year-old child uses these techniques.

Cultural significance of tropes

The role of stylistic figures in the Russian language is great: they add emotional coloring, enhance images and make speech more expressive. Without them, the works of Pushkin and Lermontov would have lost their splendor, and now you can use beautiful speech patterns more confidently, since you know, for example, what litotes is.

In literature it is impossible to do without these techniques, which make the Russian language one of the most expressive, complex and rich. So take care of the Russian language - this treasure, this heritage, as Turgenev and our other outstanding compatriots bequeathed to us.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. All of us in our lives have said or heard similar expressions at least once (and some more than once): YOU ARE ALWAYS LATE or HAVEN'T SEEN SEEN FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.

And few people thought that these phrases were devoid of any common sense. So, a person simply cannot “always be late.” And it’s impossible for someone not to see each other for “a hundred years,” if only because people rarely live that long.

Such exaggerations in Russian are called hyperboles and they will be discussed in this publication.

Hyperbole is a beautiful exaggeration

This word itself is Greek - “hyperbole” and it means “excess, excess, exaggeration.”

Hyperbole is one of the means strengthening emotional assessment, which consists in excessive exaggeration of any phenomena, qualities, properties or processes. This creates a more impressive image.

Moreover, exaggeration often reaches completely incomprehensible concepts, sometimes even. Any foreigner, if translated literally, will be clearly puzzled. We have long been accustomed to them, and perceive them as completely normal.

Here are examples of the most commonly used hyperboles in everyday life:

SCARE TO DEATH
A THOUSAND SORRY
AT LEAST FLY
RIVERS OF BLOOD
MOUNTAINS OF CORPSES
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER
GO OVER A THOUSAND KILOMETERS
STAYED ALL DAY
LOTS OF MONEY
A Feast FOR THE WHOLE WORLD
SEA OF TEARS
NOT SEEN FOR 100 YEARS
OCEAN OF PASSIONS
WEIGHS ONE HUNDRED POUNDS
Smother in your arms
SCARED TO DEATH

All listed expressions we constantly use V colloquial speech. And for the sake of experiment, just try to parse them verbatim and see how funny and sometimes absurd some of them are.

Well, for example, “at least fill yourself up” - this should be such an amount of liquid that it is enough for a whole pool into which you could plunge headlong. Although in fact, with this expression we just want to say that we have a lot of drinks - even more than we need.

Or does the phrase “a lot of money” actually mean just good things? financial condition, and not that a person has collected all his savings and let’s put them in one pile.

And we never use the expression “to travel a thousand kilometers” we're talking about about the real distance, for example, from Moscow to Volgograd or Rostov-on-Don. But simply in the sense of “far”, although in fact in real numbers there the distance may be only a few kilometers.

And this way you can “debunk” absolutely any hyperbole. But you shouldn't do this. They do not have to mean the absolute truth; their task is to characterize in the most picturesque way specific situation or thought, enhancing her emotional coloring.

Examples of hyperbole in fiction

In fact, such exaggerations are a very old literary device. It was used, and this was almost a thousand years ago. With the help of hyperboles, the strength of the heroes and their opponents was repeatedly strengthened.

The heroic sleep lasted 12 DAYS (well, a person cannot sleep for almost two weeks)
Countless forces stood in the way of the hero - A WOLF WILL NOT OUTRUN THEM IN A DAY, A RAVE WILL NOT FLY FROM THEM IN A DAY (how many enemies should there be - a million?)
The hero will wave his hand - A STREET IS AMONG ENEMIES, he will wave another - AN ALLEY (that is, with one blow the hero kills several dozen at once)
Ilya Muromets took a club WEIGHTING ONE HUNDRED POUDS (here you must understand that one hundred pounds is one and a half tons)
The Nightingale the Robber whistles - THE FOREST IS STOPPING TO THE GROUND, AND PEOPLE ARE FALLING DEAD (well, this is something out of a fairy tale)

Exactly the same hyperboles occur in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". For example:

“The Russians blocked wide fields with scarlet shields, seeking honor for themselves and glory for the prince” or “The army is such that you can splash the Volga with oars, and scoop up the Don with helmets.”

Among writers, Nikolai Vasilyevich has the most hyperbole Gogol. There are exaggerations in almost every one of his famous work. For example, he describes the Dnieper River:

A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper.
The Dnieper is like a road without end in length and without measure in width.

Or he uses exaggerations in his words, putting them in the mouths of the heroes:

I would destroy you all into flour! (Governor)
Thirty-five thousand couriers alone... Me myself state council afraid. (Khlestakov)

And in " Dead souls“There are these words: “Human passions are as countless as the sands of the sea.”

Almost every writer or poet uses hyperbole. With their help, they, for example, more colorfully describe the character of the heroes of works or show their author's attitude to them.

Moreover, writers often do not use already established expressions, but try to come up with something of their own.

Here's more examples of hyperbole in literature:

And a mountain of bloody bodies prevented the cannonballs from flying (Lermontov)
The sunset glowed with a hundred and forty suns (Mayakovsky)
A million torments (Griboyedov)
A decent person is ready to run away to distant lands for you (Dostoevsky)
And the pine tree reaches the stars (Mandelshtam)
In the dream, the janitor became as heavy as a chest of drawers (Ilf and Petrov)

Examples of hyperbole in advertising

Of course, past this interesting reception which allows enhance the real meaning of words, advertisers couldn’t get through either. A lot of slogans are based on this principle. After all, the task is to attract the client’s attention, while promising “mountains of gold” and in every possible way emphasizing the uniqueness of the product:

Taste on the verge of possible (chewing gum "Stimorol")
Control over the elements (Adidas sneakers)
King of salads (Oliviez mayonnaise)

The principle of hyperbole is also often used in the creation of advertising videos. For example, series famous videos about Snickers bars with the slogan “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Where various characters turn into completely different people and start doing all sorts of stupid things, and only a candy bar can bring them back to normal.

These commercials clearly exaggerate (greatly exaggerate) the feeling of hunger and the “miraculous” power of Snickers itself.

Well the simplest example The hyperbole that is used in advertising is expressions like “the best”, “the most stylish”, “the most comfortable” and so on, but about prices, on the contrary, they say “the lowest”.

Instead of a conclusion

You can add greater expressiveness and emotional coloring to any expression not only with the help of hyperbole. There is a technique in the Russian language that is its complete opposite. He does not exaggerate, but, on the contrary, reduces the significance.

Before you can blink an eye, the years have already flown by.

This technique is called "". This will be discussed in detail in our next article.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Hyperbole (literature)

Hyperbola(_gr. ὑπερβολή, “transition, exaggeration”) - a stylistic figure of obvious and deliberate exaggeration, in order to enhance expressiveness and emphasize the said thought, for example, “I said this a thousand times” or “we have enough food for six months.”

Hyperbole is often combined with other stylistic devices, giving them an appropriate coloring: hyperbolic comparisons, metaphors, etc. (“the waves rose like mountains”). The character or situation portrayed may also be hyperbolic. Hyperbole is also characteristic of the rhetorical and oratorical style, as a means of pathetic elation, as well as the romantic style, where pathos comes into contact with irony. Among Russian authors, Gogol is especially prone to hyperbole, and among poets, Mayakovsky.

Examples

Phraseologisms and winged words

* "sea of tears"
* “quick as lightning”, “lightning fast”
* "numerous as the sand on the seashore"
* “We haven’t seen each other for a hundred years!”
* “The (drunk) sea is knee-deep [and the puddle is head-deep]”
* “Whoever remembers the old - look out! And whoever forgets, both!”

Ancient examples

Give me a fulcrum and I will move the Earth.

::::Archimedes (ancient Greek: Dos moipu sto, kai tan gan kinas.)

Hyperbolic metaphors in the Gospel

* “Why do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Gospel of Matthew 7:1-3). In this figurative picture, a critical person proposes to take the straw out of his neighbor’s “eye.” The critic wants to say that his neighbor does not see clearly and therefore is not able to judge sensibly, while the critic himself is prevented from judging sensibly by a whole log.
* On another occasion, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being “blind guides, straining out gnats and swallowing up camels” (Matthew 23:24). Additionally, Jesus knew that the Pharisees strained their wine through a cloth. These rule-breakers did this to avoid accidentally swallowing a mosquito and thereby becoming ceremoniously unclean. At the same time, they figuratively swallowed a camel, which was also considered unclean (Leviticus 11:4, 21-24).
* “Faith the size of a [tiny] mustard seed” that could move a mountain is a way of emphasizing that even a little faith can do a lot (Matthew 17:20).
* The camel is trying to pass through the eye of the needle - also a hyperbole of Jesus Christ, which clearly shows how difficult it is for a rich man, leading a materialistic lifestyle, to try to serve God. (Gospel of Matthew 19:24).

Classics of Marxism

What a lump, huh? What a seasoned little man!

::::V.I.Lenin - “Leo Tolstoy as a mirror of the Russian revolution” (1908)::::V.I.Lenin - “Three sources and three components of Marxism” (July - November 1914)

Prose

...Ivan Nikiforovich, on the contrary, has trousers with such wide folds that if they were inflated, the entire yard with a barn and buildings could be placed in them...

::::N. Gogol - story “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” (1835)

A million Cossack caps suddenly poured onto the square...
For one hilt of my saber they give me the best herd and three thousand sheep.

::::N.Gogol - story “Taras Bulba” (1835)

And at that very moment there were couriers, couriers, couriers on the streets... can you imagine, thirty-five thousand couriers alone!

::::N. Gogol - comedy “The Inspector General” (1851)

Poems, songs

And if I were a black man of advanced years,
and then without despondency and laziness,
I would learn Russian just because
that Lenin spoke to them.

::::Vladimir Mayakovsky - poem “Vladimir Ilyich Lenin” (1925)

I would eat bureaucracy like a wolf.
There is no respect for mandates...

::::Vladimir Mayakovsky - “Poems about the Soviet passport” (1929)

Friends, I will go out to meet a bear without fear,
If I am with a friend, and the bear is without a friend.

::::Song from the film "A Secret to the Whole World". Music: V. Shainsky, lyrics by M. Tanich

About our meeting - what can I say,
I was waiting for her, as they wait natural disasters,
But you and I immediately began to live,
Without fear of harmful consequences! "(2 times)"
…
What I asked for, I did instantly,
To me every hour I wanted to do wedding night,
Because of you I jumped in front of a train,
But, thank God, it was not entirely successful... "(2 times)"
...And if you had waited for me that year,
When I was sent to the "dacha" [ Country house- bunks (Criminal jargon)] , -
I would steal everything for you firmament
And two Kremlin stars to boot! "(2 times)"
And I swear - I will be the last bastard! -
Don't lie, don't drink - and I will forgive the betrayal!
And I'll give it to you Bolshoi Theater
AND Small sports arena! "(2 times)"
But now I’m not ready for the meeting -
I'm afraid of you, I'm afraid of intimate nights,
Like residents of Japanese cities
Afraid of repetition Hiroshima. "(2 times)"

:::: Vladimir Vysotsky,

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Hyperbole (literature)” is in other dictionaries:

- (Greek υπερβολη) a stylistic figure of obvious and deliberate exaggeration, aimed at enhancing expressiveness, for example. "I've said this a thousand times." Hyperbole is often combined with other stylistic devices, giving them the appropriate... ... Literary encyclopedia

This term has other meanings, see Hyperbole. Hyperbole and its tricks ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Hyperbole. Hyperbole (from other Greek ὑπερβολή “transition; excess, excess; exaggeration”) is a stylistic figure of obvious and deliberate exaggeration, in order to enhance expressiveness and ... ... Wikipedia

Hyperbola and its foci Hyperbola is the locus of points M of the Euclidean plane for which the absolute value of the difference in distances from M to two selected points F1 and F2 (called foci) is constant, that is | | F1M | − | F2M | | = C... ... Wikipedia

Islamic Studies Sections History Early Islam Philosophy Early Modern Eschatology Theology The Concept of God Tawhid Mysticism Jurisprudence ... Wikipedia

Writing gains special power influencing human minds through certain linguistic means. The use of stylistic devices makes literary text especially expressive, emotional, leaves the reader with an indelible impression of reading literature.

What is hyperbole in Russian?

A stylistic device, the name of which is borrowed from the ancient Greek language and is translated as “exaggeration,” is present in classical and modern works along with metaphor, epithet, metonymy, synecdoche, etc. What is hyperbole in literature? This is a deliberate exaggeration of the properties of phenomena and objects. The linguistic device is used in Russian colloquial speech for emotional enhancement, when there is not just the transfer of dry information, but a personal assessment of what is happening is emphasized.

The figure of speech was the authors' favorite means of expression folk tales, epic. The stylistic device was widely used by writers whose works became classics of literature. Visual enhancements contain humorous and satirical stories, poetic creativity. Exaggeration is used wherever it is necessary to highlight one or another fact of reality.

Why is exaggeration used in literature?

Hyperbole catches attention, has a stimulating effect on the imagination, makes you look at the facts of reality in a new way, feel their significance and special role. Exaggeration exceeds the limits set by verisimilitude, imbuing a person, thing, or natural phenomenon supernatural characteristics. expressive means emphasizes the conventionality of the world created by the writer. What is hyperbole in literature? The technique indicates the author’s attitude towards the depicted - sublime, idealistic or, conversely, mocking.

How is artistic exaggeration realized?

To clearly understand what hyperboles are in literature, you need to know the methods of implementing amplification inherent in the text work of art. Expressiveness is achieved by the writer through the use of lexical hyperboles, including the words “completely”, “completely”, “everything”. The metaphorical device is based on a figurative comparison. Phraseological hyperboles in literature are set expressions. Quantitative amplification includes a number designation.

Lexical hyperboles

Expressiveness is created in literature through the use of certain words:

completely bad, completely incomprehensible handwriting, no good, everyone knows.

Metaphorical hyperboles

The following phrases contain figurative transfer: the whole world is a theater, a forest of hands, a boundless ocean of love, promise mountains of gold.

Phraseological hyperboles

Set expressions are the following exaggerations:

the goat understands, I’ll beat you like a baby, the contract is cheaper than the paper it’s written on.

Quantitative hyperbolas

Numerical exaggerations contain the following expressions:

a thousand things to do for the evening, I warned you a million times, a mountain of folders with papers.

Poetic examples of hyperbole in Russian

Expressiveness poetic work achieved by exaggerating the meaning of sentences:

But I love - for what, I don’t know myself -

Its steppes are coldly silent,

Her boundless forests sway,

The floods of its rivers are like seas (M.Yu. Lermontov)

The sunset glowed with one hundred and forty suns... (V.V. Mayakovsky)

Midnight whirlwind - the hero is flying!

Darkness from his brow, dust whistling from him!

Lightning from the eyes runs ahead,

The oak trees lie in a row behind (G.R. Derzhavin).

Goy, Rus', my dear,

The huts are in the robes of the image...

No end in sight -

Only blue sucks eyes (S. Yesenin).

Literary exaggeration in prose

The stylistic device has found application in classical works literature:

Meanwhile, before the eyes of those traveling, a wide, endless plain, intercepted by a chain of hills, spread out. (A.P. Chekhov “Steppe”)

A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper. (N.V. Gogol “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”)

Unheard of activity suddenly began to boil in all parts of the city... (M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The History of a City”)

Video: Definition of hyperbole

Every person has at least once encountered the concept of hyperbole in literature. But not everyone knows what this term means.

Hyperbole is a stylistic device used in literature

to exaggerate any action,
to create a stronger impression on readers.

This stylistic device is used by many modern writers and authors.

What is the difference between hyperbole and other literary devices?

Hyperbole also has similarities with other stylistic devices, such as

metaphor,
grotesque,
comparison.

However, these linguistic means there are differences. For example, grotesque is one of the types

artistic imagery,
contrast between reality and fantasy,
ugliness and beauty,

which helps create a comical image.

To compare objects or phenomena, the following techniques are used:

metaphor,
comparison.

Hyperbole in literature is also a means of comparison, but in a more exaggerated format. For example:

ears like an elephant,
legs like a giraffe
neck like an ostrich
it was explained to him a million times, etc.

Hyperbole in literature also has an opposite technique, which also compares phenomena, but in a diminutive direction. It's called litotes. Example:

within easy reach,
Tom Thumb.

The reason for hyperbole

It's hard to imagine that the need for extreme exaggeration dates back to ancient times. People's judgments modern society are strikingly different from the worldview of ancient people, who had completely fantastic ideas about the world. In those distant times, people could not have a clear understanding of what fiction and reality are. The earliest people endowed magical power those phenomena that could not be explained. They were afraid of such phenomena. As a result, they began to appear

Gratitude,
astonishment,
admiration,
exaggeration.

Use of hyperbole in modern and classical literature

Without the use of literary techniques, the work will be insipid, boring and uninteresting. Therefore, all authors use them in their works. The basis for the use of hyperbole in literature is the interaction of expansive and naturally following meanings of the same phrases.

this news has already been told a million times (the number is being exaggerated);
they had a huge fight (the quality was affected);
he left her alone and there was no more peace for her (emotions involved).

“Hyperbole is very easy to confuse with similar devices such as metaphor and simile. Their task also consists of comparing objects and phenomena. But we must always remember that if there is any exaggeration in the comparison, then this is hyperbole.”

If you say that he has ears like an elephant, then you can see that this is a comparison. But if you analyze, you can understand that this is an exaggeration, that such a comparison was used in figuratively, since human ears can't be that big. Hence, this comparison is a hyperbole.

This technique is used for

giving expressiveness to a sentence,
significance, significance
to focus the reader's attention on it.

In Russian literature they readily used this technique Russian classics

A.S. Griboyedov,
A.N. Ostrovsky,
N.V. Gogol,
L.N. Tolstoy.

Epic stories are also full of hyperboles. In poetry, hyperbole is most often used in conjunction with other techniques.

“Modern realities without the use of hyperbole will be absolutely meaningless. Therefore, their use can be found in almost all speech communications. If you think about television advertisements, most of them use hyperbolic technique.”