Hyperbole in English literature

Hyperbole is a literary device that uses exaggeration for effect, and is often used to emphasize a point or evoke emotion. It's usually not meant to be taken literally.

Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal: In this famous example, Swift suggests that poor Irish citizens eat or sell their children to solve their poverty problems.

James Tate's lines: "She scorched you with her radiance" or "He was more wronged than Job.
Andrew Marvell's description of a forlorn lover: "The sea him lent those bitter tears".

When I tripped in front of the whole class, I almost died of embarrassment": This sentence refers to the intense emotional discomfort associated with embarrassing oneself.

.These books weigh a ton": The person saying this is probably just tired from carrying things

The word hyperbole comes from the Greek word huperbole, which means "to throw above". In rhetoric, hyperbole is also called auxesis, which comes from the Greek word for "growth.

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