Previous
Genre
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
Hyperbole
Explanation and Analysis—The Angel’s Visitors:
When describing Pelayo and Elisenda’s successful (and exploitative) venture of charging visitors to see the angel they are holding captive in their chicken coop, the narrator uses a metaphor and several hyperboles, as seen in the following passage:
In the midst of that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble, Pelayo and Elisenda were happy with fatigue, for in less than a week they had crammed their rooms with money and the line of pilgrims waiting their turn to enter still reached beyond the horizon.
The metaphor here—in which Marquez refers to “that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble”—is meant to communicate how many people are arriving by sea to this small coastal town to visit the angel. In this metaphor, the swarms of people arriving in the town are akin to the number of people who might appear on their shores had there been a shipwreck. When Marquez notes how the arrival of this many people “made the earth tremble,” he is using hyperbolic language, exaggerating the truth so that readers can understand, again, just how many people are flooding into this small village in the hopes of meeting the angel (and having their ailments cured through miracles).
This passage contains other examples of hyperbolic language, such as the description of how Pelayo and Elisenda “crammed their rooms with money” and how the line of people waiting to see the angel “reached beyond the horizon.” Marquez again uses exaggerated language to communicate how successful the couple’s exploitative scheme is. This is one of the many moments in the story when the couple treats their angel captive with cruelty rather than empathy.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Omnipresent Angel:
Near the end of the story, after Pelayo and Elisenda have built a large house for themselves with the money they earned from charging visitors to see the angel, they allow the angel to come indoors. When describing the angel’s presence in the house, the narrator uses a series of hyperboles, as seen in the following passage:
They would drive him out of the bedroom with a broom and a moment later find him in the kitchen. He seemed to be in so many places at the same time that they grew to think that he’d been duplicated, that he was reproducing himself all through the house, and the exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels.
In the first hyperbole in this passage, the narrator notes how Pelayo and Elisenda started to think that the angel had “been duplicated,” which is followed by the hyperbolic description of the angel possibly “reproducing himself all through the house.” This is not meant to be interpreted literally, but as an exaggeration that helps readers to understand just how omnipresent the angel seems to be in the house. This is not surprising considering Pelayo and Elisenda's dislike of the angel, despite his patience and gentle character.
The passage also ends with a hyperbole, with Elisenda’s declaration that “it was awful living in that hell full of angels.” Again, this exaggerated (and paradoxical) language of “hell full of angels” is meant to help readers see just how absurd Pelayo and Elisenda’s rage toward and mistreatment of the angel is when he has been nothing but patient and kind over the course of his stay, despite the extreme suffering he experiences.
Related Themes:
