Incorporating Hyperbole Incorporating Voice Make Your Writing Come Alive with Hyperbole Some folks never exaggerate -- they just remember big.

Incorporating Incorporating HyperboleHyperbole

Incorporating Incorporating VoiceVoice

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Alive with Alive with HyperboleHyperbole


HyperboleHyperbole is a figure of speech that uses is a figure of speech that uses an exaggerated or extravagant statement an exaggerated or extravagant statement to create a strong emotional response. As to create a strong emotional response. As a figure of speech, it is not intended to be a figure of speech, it is not intended to be taken literally. taken literally. HyperboleHyperbole is frequently is frequently used for humor.used for humor.


Understand how Understand how HyperboleHyperbole can be can be used as an effective writing tool to used as an effective writing tool to add whimsy and comic relief to add whimsy and comic relief to different forms of writing.different forms of writing.

When writing fiction, poetry, memoirs, humor or other creative work HyperboleHyperbole is an extremely effective literary device. For example, to describe a very long car trip, I might write, "I'd been driving for about a I'd been driving for about a hundred years hundred years when I finally came to a fork in the road."


UseUse HyperboleHyperbole in writing to in writing to make your work more focused make your work more focused and impressive.and impressive.

This is dramatically more descriptive This is dramatically more descriptive than "I'd been driving for a very long time when than "I'd been driving for a very long time when I finally came to a fork in the road." Since the I finally came to a fork in the road." Since the reader knows it's impossible for the writer to reader knows it's impossible for the writer to drive for a hundred years, it becomes clear that drive for a hundred years, it becomes clear that hyperbolehyperbole is being used. is being used.


Be aware that the use of Be aware that the use of HyperboleHyperbole shows maturity in shows maturity in writing, but they need to be writing, but they need to be used properly.used properly.

When used in advertising it is often called "hypehype." Due to its negative connotation in advertising, HyperboleHyperbole doesn't play an effective role in ad copy or product reviews.


What exactly do these exaggerations mean???

Hyperbole

Here are some examples of the use of Hyperbole . . .


“I’ve told you a million times”Even though it might seem as if you have repeated yourself a million times, chances are it has been far fewer than ONE MILLION. This Hyperbole illustrates the frustration a person feels when having to continually repeat the same information. Not that teachers know anything about this.


“I had a ton of homework.”Yes, your teacher enjoys giving you that legal form of torture known as homework. And, yes, it might seem as if there is a TON of it. However, if you were to get a scale and weigh the homework, it would not tip the scales at 2000 pounds.


“If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.”

It is an awesome game. All of your friends have it. If you do not purchase that game, you will be the laughing stock of everyone at your school because of your lack of coolness. Yet, it is quite doubtful that you will actually die if you do not own that game.


“He is as skinny as a toothpick.”

Now, this boy might be a little bit underweight. But he is definitely not so thin that if you put him next to a toothpick people would be unable to distinguish the two of them apart.


“You could have knocked me over with a feather.”

A person can be surprised to the point of being shocked. However, even if that person is totally dumbfounded, it is doubtful someone could come up, hit him with a FEATHER, and he would fall over.


“They ran like greased lightning.”

They might be fast. They might be incredibly fast. But they are not THAT fast!


“That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur.”

Now the joke may have been told a few times before. Your grandparents and great grandparents might have heard the joke (and it probably wasn’t funny then either), but dinosaurs definitely did not hear that joke, no matter how old it is.


““She is older than the She is older than the hills.” hills.” People get old; it’s a fact of life. But no matter how old someone is, she is not older than a geographic formation.


“He's got tons of money.”

He is probably rich. Really rich. However, he’s not THAT rich.


“That new car costs a bazillion dollars.”

A “bazillion”? REALLY?!?!?!?!?

Incorporating Hyperbole Incorporating Voice Make Your Writing Come Alive with Hyperbole Some folks never exaggerate -- they just remember big.

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