Literary notes about hyperbole (AI summary)
The term "hyperbole" has been employed in literature as a deliberate exaggeration to convey the essence or intensity of an idea. Early modern thinkers, for instance, regarded hyperbolic expressions as a means to elevate the mystical qualities of artistic creations, as seen when Freud discusses the "magic of art" in modern discourse [1]. In rhetorical studies, hyperbole is distinctly categorized among other figures of speech, highlighting its role in embellishing language [2]. Authors like Montaigne acknowledged the propensity of earnest speech to veer into hyperbole, while La Fontaine even crafted entire verses featuring hyperbolic imagery—such as describing a cabbage larger than a house—to entertain and provoke thought [3, 4]. Later, writers like Wells used hyperbole to evoke a sense of dramatic disintegration, whereas etiquette guides warned against its excessive use in socially refined contexts [5, 6].
- “Les modernes parlent souvent, par hyperbole, de la magie du pinceau ou du ciseau d’un grand artiste et, en général, de la magie de l’art.
— from Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud - ( a ) simile; ( b ) metaphor; ( c ) metonymy; ( d ) synecdoche; ( e ) apostrophe; ( f ) vision; ( g ) personification; ( h ) hyperbole; ( i ) irony.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - A quick and earnest way of speaking, as mine is, is apt to run into hyperbole.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne - This person, feeling free To use the trope hyperbole, Had seen a cabbage with his eyes Exceeding any house in size.
— from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine - It really seemed as though that frantic hyperbole, "blown to atoms," had for once realised itself.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - But people of good breeding do not over-exploit their distinguished guests with embarrassing hyperbole, or make personal remarks.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post
