Hyperbole examples
1) “I have told you thousands of times”; “you scared me to death”.
2) I have never loved anyone in the world but you”.
3) A thousand pardons,
4) scared to death,
5) immensely obliged
Hyperbole is a device which sharpens the reader's ability to make a logical
assessment of the utterance through deliberate exaggeration.
Epithet
1. Affective epithets, which express the speaker’s emotional evaluation (e.g., common
adjectives with emotional tone).
2. Figurative epithets, which include metaphors, metonymies, and similes, often expressed
through adjectives (e.g., “the smiling sun”) or nouns in exclamations (e.g., “You, ostrich!”)
and postpositive forms (e.g., “Richard of the Lion Heart”).
Adjective epithet -the smiling sun
Exclamatory word-you ostrich!
Postpositive form-Richard of the Lion Heart!
Sentence:
“Dorothy, at my statement, had clapped her hand over her mouth to hold down laughter and
chewing gum.”
Type: Zeugma
How: The verb phrase “hold down” applies to two different objects: “laughter” (an
abstract thing) and “chewing gum” (a physical object).
Effect: Creates a humorous effect by combining two unrelated objects under the same
verb unexpectedly.
2.
Sentence:
Naval Aviation News explains why a ship is called “she”: because of “bustle,” “gang of men,”
“waist and stays,” “takes a good man to handle her right.”
Type: Pun (with allusion and personification)
How: Uses nautical terms that sound like women’s clothing/body parts (“waist,” “stays”)
and refers to the ship as “she.”
Effect: Humorous personification and wordplay connecting ships to women, making the
description lively and memorable.
3.
Sentence:
“When I am dead, I hope it may be said: 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.'”
Type: Pun
How: Wordplay on “scarlet” (color associated with sin) and “read” (pronounced like
“red”), contrasting sinful acts and scholarly achievement.
Effect: Witty contrast and a memorable epigrammatic effect.
4.
Sentence:
“Most women up London nowadays seem to furnish their rooms with nothing but orchids,
foreigners and French novels.”
Type: Pun (possibly allusion)
How: “Foreigners” could be literal people or a play on the idea of exotic/fashionable
items, blending social commentary and humor.
Effect: Satirical tone highlighting social trends, using ambiguity for effect.
5.
Sentence:
“I'm not a planner. I'm a liver.”
Type: Pun
How: “Liver” sounds like “live-er” (one who lives), playing on the double meaning of
the word (organ vs. person who lives freely).
Effect: Lighthearted humor and characterization.
6.
Sentence:
“Babbitt respected bigness in anything: in mountains, jewels, muscles, wealth or words.”
Type: Zeugma
How: “Bigness” applies to both physical things (mountains, muscles) and abstract things
(words), linking them under one adjective.
Effect: Highlights Babbitt’s admiration for grandeur in all forms, mixing physical and
abstract.
7.
Sentence:
“My mother was wearing her best grey dress and gold brooch and a faint pink flush under each
cheek bone.”
Type: Epithet (faint pink flush as a descriptive phrase) and Zeugma (if considering the
list)
How: The “faint pink flush” is an epithet describing the mother’s appearance, adding
vivid detail.
Effect: Creates a rich, sensory image of the mother’s look.
8.
Sentence:
“Do you mind if I give Ellen something?” ... “A present. It’s nothing, really.”
Type: Pun
How: The phrase “give her something” is ambiguous, causing humorous
misunderstanding (kiss? gift? punch?).
Effect: Creates tension and comic relief through ambiguity and delayed clarification.
10.
Sentence:
“Good morning,” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining and the grass was very
green.”
Type: Literal / Emphatic statement, possibly epithet (the green grass)
How: Not a play on words, but “and he meant it” emphasizes sincerity, while “very
green” acts as an epithet describing the scene.
Effect: Establishes a warm, sincere tone and vivid setting.
