![]() ![]() Some grammar experts (and teachers) might ask you to decide on one definition: simile or hyperbole. That Brautigan's main goal is to exaggerate the volume of Mellon's smacking lips, and that he does so in the form of a comparison, which happens to include the word "like." This would mean that you consider the sentence to be hyperbole.This would mean that you consider the sentence to be a simile. That Brautigan's main goal is to vividly describe the sound of Mellon's smacking lips by drawing a fanciful comparison between lips and cymbals-the fact that this comparison amplifies the lip-smacking sound in an impossible way is secondary to his purpose.With this particular example, you could make two arguments. There is a simmering debate as to whether a figure of speech can be considered both hyperbole and simile simultaneously. No matter how bad Mellon's table manners were, it would be impossible for him to achieve the volume of a pair of cymbals clashing with his lips, so isn't this also a hyperbole? However, Brautigan's comparison also exaggerates the noise of Mellon's smacking lips by comparing it to the clash of cymbals. It's comparing two unlike things to enliven the author's description (lips and cymbals).When Lee Mellon finished the apple he smacked his lips together like a pair of cymbals.Īt first, the sentence seems like a simile because: Now consider this sentence from Richard Brautigan's novel, A Confederate General from Big Sur: Simile, further, is defined by the use of the words "like" or "as," which the writer uses to establish the comparison that he or she wants to make. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things in order to make a description more vivid and interesting. It can be hard to tell the difference between hyperbole and simile. Here's how to pronounce hyperbole: hi- per-buh-lee Hyperbole vs. ![]() The key to hyperbole is not how the sentence is structured, but whether, through purposeful exaggeration, it creates strong feelings or impressions or emphasizes a point. Different examples of hyperbole can be structured quite differently as sentences.In a rhetorical context-meaning, in the context of persuasive speaking and writing-hyperbole is sometimes called auxesis while litotes goes by the name meiosis. The opposite of hyperbole is litotes, deliberate understatement.Because of its ability to express larger-than-life emotion, hyperbole is common in novels, poetry, politics and advertising slogans.Some additional key details about hyperbole: The backpack-wearer simply wants to communicate, through the use of hyperbole, that he or she is carrying a very heavy load. For example, in the hyperbolic statement, "My backpack weighs a ton," the speaker doesn't actually think the backpack weighs a ton, nor does he or she intend the listener to think so. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point, rather than be taken literally. Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. What is hyperbole? Here’s a quick and simple definition: ![]()
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