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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
Part 1, Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—A Heart Cut with Shame:
When Vronsky asks Kitty to waltz at the ball, she gives him a look "so full of love," but Vronsky does not return her glance. With a hyperbole, the narrative describes the pain Kitty will feel from his unrequited love:
He blushed and hastened to invite her to waltz, but he had only just put his arm around her slender waist and taken the first step when the music suddenly stopped. Kitty looked into his face, which was such a short distance from hers, and long afterwards, for several years, that look, so full of love, which she gave him then, and to which he did not respond, cut her heart with tormenting shame.
In the beginning of the novel, Kitty is prone to hyperbolic descriptions of emotion, as she is particularly high-strung and naïve. In response to Vronsky's blank expression and unrequited love, the narrative presents Kitty as having a heart cut by "tormenting shame" for many years to come. This phrase is hyperbolic—the description of Kitty's feeling of rejection is so strong and lasting that it cannot possibly be realistic.
Two important characteristics of Kitty throughout the novel are her fickleness and devotion. She is easily upset by Vronsky's rejection and very quickly changes her mind about her feelings for him. Kitty rejects Levin and then later admits her feelings for him. Kitty's proclivity for drama is clearly demonstrated by the hyperbole of her lasting shame and the cutting of her heart.
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