Hyperbole Hyperbole Hyperbole (; , "huperbolḗ", from ("hupér", 'above') and ("bállō", 'I throw')) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and creates strong impressions. As a figure of speech, it is usually not meant to be taken literally. Hyperbole may also be used for instances such as, exaggerations for emphasis or effect. Hyperboles are often used in casual speech as intensifiers, such as saying "the bag weighed a ton". Hyperbole makes the point that the
Rhetorical device idea or meaning by linking it to an already familiar idea or meaning. By making the new concept appear to be linked to (or a type of) the old and familiar concept, the person using the metaphor hopes to help the audience understand the new concept. An example of rhetorical device is this passage attributed to a speech by Abraham Lincoln about a political adversary who had "dived down deeper into the sea of knowledge and come up drier than any other man he knew". This attributed quote uses a body of water as a metaphor for a body of