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Hyperbole 1

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CajunCenturion

CajunCenturion

Programmer
Mar 4, 2002
11,381
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- What does it mean?
- How do you recognize it?
- Is it effective as a literary tool?
- Is is effective as a debate tool?


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Isn't it a bigger version of the SuperBowl, but for people who can't spell ?
 
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Here we go.. in the right thread this time....

Tracy said:
maybe we could highjack it into a discussion of what "hyperbole" means and what it is
Click to expand...

It's a food recepticle with A.D.D. isn't it ?

A smile is worth a thousand kind words. So smile, it's easy! :)
 
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I'm going to assume for your first question that you don't want an online dictionary quote...


Hyperbole is exaggeration and comes to us from a Greek word meaning "excess" and it can be very effective in both literature and debate. In literature, some forms of satire can be thought of as hyperbolic, because the author exaggerates a particular facet of the nature of the person or institution being satirized. I have read that Jonathon Swift's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World (a.k.a. Gulliver's Travels) is hyyperbolic satire of the institutions of England of Swift's time, although my knowledge of those institutions is too loose to substantiate this.

The best advice, I think, for the use of hyperbole in debate is "Less is more". Hyperbole can easily be used highlight the weak points in an opposing argument through exaggeration of the effect of that weak point. But overuse can easily lead to a person's coming across as overblown.

Some hyperbole is easily to spot -- just ask any fisherman the size of the biggest fish he caught that day. Some hyperbole can be harder to see, particularly when the speaker is using (if this is not an oxymoron) subtler hyperbole. I don't know if there's a hard-and-fast rule for identifying it, but I do know that if an argument sounds hyperbolic, it's time to start fact-checking.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions! TANSTAAFL!
 
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I think that they have become so common these days (due to thier use in situation comedies?) that they tend to go by almost unnoticed unless they are particularly witty or real groaners.

As a literary tool I think you would have to look at it case by case. As a debate tool it suggests to me that the speaker has stopped debating for a second to ridicule their opponent or can't think of a proper response quickly and is stalling.

I like to use "reverse hyperbole's" such as "How much do you think that Rolls Royce cost?....At least $50(poor example)

Is there a name for that sort of intentional understatement?

DonBott

President
Omnipitence,Ltd.
 
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==> Is there a name for that sort of intentional understatement?

Yes, it's called a 'meiosis'.

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To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
 
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A hyperbole usually involves a superlative. "best", "most", "biggest" and so on.
Simple enough.
It's effective as a debate tool if your opponents are weak. Otherwise it's destroyed instantly as being fact-free..

"That time in Seattle... was a nightmare. I came out of it dead broke, without a house, without anything except a girlfriend and a knowledge of UNIX."
"Well, that's something," Avi says. "Normally those two are mutually exclusive."
-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"
 
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Without hyperbole language would be much less interesting.

Yes, it is a valid literary device. Language is extremely complex and deliberate overstatement is a means to convey more meaning that simple words will.

In the same way that poets may use onomatopoeia to add rhythm, measure or meaning to a verse one may use hyperbole to stress a point or opinion... or simply as a joke.

Anyone that dismisses it or insists on taking hyperbole literally must find the world an extremely confusing and disappointing place.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Designease Ltd. - polyprop folders, ring binders and creative presentation ideas
Earl & Thompson Marketing - Marketing Agency Services in Gloucestershire
 
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well said foamcow

A smile is worth a thousand kind words. So smile, it's easy! :)
 
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Were you just looking for an excuse to write "onomatopoeia" ???
 
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Well I think hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe, ever. I would never-ever use hyperbole.

--Gooser
 
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foamcow ... I find it interesting that your post supports the use of hyperbole so simply and eloquently, without using even a hint of it. Proof surely that hyperbole is indeed the most overated and totally unecessary "device". [smile]

[Cheers]
 
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Ladyazh said:
Exuse me Rick, synaesthesia IS, isn't it?
Click to expand...

This thread tastes like 7.

I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson

Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ye has a choice: talk like a pira
 
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Can I have a go, er
'You will accept the absolute almighty truth of my religious arguments, or my threads will get deleted'




Steve: Delphi a feersum engin indeed.
 
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jebenson said:
This thread tastes like 7.
Click to expand...
Bad Jeb! You made me literally chortle in the office.

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
 
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CorBlimeyLimey

Are you waiting for someone to point out that you said the inverse of Foamcow - you argued that it was uncessary but ended up using hyperbole in your sentence?
 
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