修辞学论文

The use of hyperbole and understate经管学院0703 向阳学号：2007102040345 Hyperbole and understate are be used in literature broad.we should grasp this two kinds of rhetorical devices and can use them skillfully in our writing.They can let our article become more attractive.The definition of hyperbole is the extravagant exaggeration of fact or of possibility according to which a person or thing is depicted as being better or worse or larger or smaller that is actually the case. It may be used either for serious or ironic or comic effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton. About hyperbole a recognized figure of rhetoric, meaning an extravagant statement or assertion, which, when used for conscious effect, is not to be taken too seriously or too literally. Yet the hyperbole is often used unconsciously by the men of vivid yet unbalanced imagination whom the world sometimes calls liars and sometimes fools.But understatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than would be expected. This is not to be confused with euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression.Hyperbole is the polished mirror into which the black imagination gazes with every other rhyme, laughing as it sees itself refracted and distorted in a phantasmagorial kaleidoscope. The language of hyperbole amplifies reality by carrying us beyond the boundaries of rational thought .there are some examples about hyperbole:These books weigh a ton. (weigh a great deal)I could sleep for a year. (for a long time)I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse. No really, I could eat a whole live horse. I am hungry. (eat a lot)I'm doing like 15 million things right now. (busy)Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system. (an important place)"Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together." (using hyperbole to illustrate the use of hyperbole) (-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Ch. 6)These images defy rational understanding and a square, sane conception of space; but they convey, in no uncertain terms, the absolute absence of height. Hyperbole makes extraordinary demands on the imagination.Your mama's hair is so short she could stand on her head and her hair wouldn't touch the ground. . . .Your father is so low he has to look up to tie his shoes.You're so low down you need an umbrella to protect yourself from ant piss.The trick to effective hyperbole is to give an original twist to obviously fanciful overstatement. For example ,i had walk a million miles for one of your smiles' would no longer impress Mammy, but Raymond Chandler's 'She was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole through a stained-glass window' still has that crisp crunch offreshness."Understatement is a staple of humor in English-speaking cultures, especially in British humor. For example, in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, a suburban dinner party is invaded by Death, who wears a long black cloak and carries a scythe. He is the Grim Reaper; the party is over; the guests must all go with him. "Well," says one party guest, "that's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?" In another scene, an Army officer has just lost his leg. When asked how he feels, he looks down at his bloody stump and responds, "Stings a bit" there are some examples about use of understatement :•"It's just a flesh wound."(Black Knight, after having both arms cut off, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail)•"The grave's a fine and private place,But none, I think, do there embrace."(Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress")•"I am just going outside and may be some time."(Captain Lawrence Oates, Antarctic explorer, before walking out into a blizzard to face certain death, 1912)•"A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty."(Mark Twain)•"This [double helix] structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest."(J. Watson and F. Crick)•"I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain."(Holden Caulfield in The Catcher In The Rye, by J. D. Salinger)•"The new EU member states of Poland and Lithuania have been arguing this week for the summit to be called off, and criticizing the German preparations. For historical reasons, the east Europeans are highly sensitive to any sign of Germany cutting deals with Russia over their heads."(The Guardian, May 17, 2007)•"Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?"(Dinner guest, after a visit from the Grim Reaper, in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life)Hyperbole means exaggeration-going over the top .Understate is just the opposite-toning down the situation.To practice hyperbole,take a few common actions,people or things and make them much more than they really are . Such as; atoll man , a deep pool,a firm handshake,a pleasant song .You can compare the item to something else.For example,he is as big as a elephant's rear.otherwise ,you also can increase its size or number.If there are five ants crawling in your desk, you can exaggerate by saying there are one thousand .Whereas hyperbole take something ordinary and exaggerates it ,understatement can take something outrageous and make it seem ordinary .For instance,if you were standing on the deck of the Titanic as it was sinking ,and said "well this is a bit of bad luck "you would be understating a very serious situation.。