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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Love as Sensation:
In Chapter 6, Patroclus revels in the intimate friendship developing between himself and Achilles. The two boys seem to understand one another with ease. Patroclus uses hyperbole to describe this quick, effortless familiarity, and the hyper-awareness that comes with it:
I did not have to worry that I was too slender or too slow. This and this and this! I taught him how to skip stones, and he taught me how to carve wood. I could feel every nerve in my body, every brush of air against my skin.
Before Patroclus even understands what love is, or that he is in love with Achilles, his affection for the other boy manifests as a hypersensitivity to Achilles's presence. Patroclus cannot literally "feel every nerve" in his body or "every brush of air" against his skin. This is, rather, how he chooses to describe his new, ineffable emotions as they manifest.
Patroclus is not particularly in touch with his own body—in fact, one might say he avoids bodily awareness out of shame or self-consciousness. Patroclus is neither athletic nor overly attractive, by his own measure. Yet when faced with Achilles's proximity, Patroclus cannot help but become hypersensitive and hyper-aware of his own body, fueled by the human connection he craves.
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Helen of Troy:
In the following example of hyperbole from Chapter 22, Achilles and Patroclus discuss Helen's beauty—and the stories spun by those compelled to sail for her.
"She used to be known as the most beautiful woman in our kingdoms. Now they say she's the most beautiful woman in the world." [Achilles] put on his best singer's falsetto. "A thousand ships have sailed for her.”
A thousand was the number Agamemnon’s bards had started using; one thousand, one hundred and eighty-six didn’t fit well in a line of verse.
This particular instance of hyperbole is curious, given the fact that the narrator (Patroclus) directly acknowledges the exaggeration. Achilles mocks Agamemnon's bards, putting on his "best singer's falsetto" to call Helen the "most beautiful woman in the world," whom a thousand ships have sailed for. Patroclus then acknowledges that the bards have exaggerated or twisted the truth, in fact deflating the actual number of ships because "one thousand, one hundred and eighty-six" doesn't suit the metrical structure of the song.
Beauty, too, is subjective: both Achilles and Patroclus are aware of this. To call Helen the "most beautiful woman in the world" is yet another example of exaggeration, a bard shifting around facts and figures to craft a better story. The above passage and instance of hyperbole emblematize the novel's themes of remembrance and history. Those with the power to commission bards and poets have the power to shape social memory—to determine which stories get told, and how.
Related Themes:
