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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 8 - The Queen's Croquet-Ground
Explanation and Analysis—The Queen of Hearts:
Carroll often uses hyperbole, or exaggerated overstatement, to describe the Red Queen. His extreme language underscores how volatile and angry her character becomes when people are disobedient. In Chapter 8, the Queen orders Alice dead after she discovers the painted roses:
The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed “Off with her head! Off with—”
“Nonsense!” said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.
Not only is the Queen's reaction extreme in comparison to the issue of the roses; so is Carroll's description of her rage. He compares her to a wild beast and invites the reader to wonder: does the Queen merely blush or literally turn "crimson"? In a realistic novel, readers might assume the former. But this is Wonderland, and she is the Queen of Hearts, so she might very well have the capacity to turn bright red.
Another example of hyperbole appears in Chapter 8 during the croquet game:
The players all played at once without waiting for turns, quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting “Off with his head!” or “Off with her head!” about once in a minute.
Many of the story's most hyperbolic scenes involve the Queen of Hearts. Her extreme reactions and violent outbursts make her the perfect character around which to build hyperbolic descriptions of the extent of Wonderland's madness. The trial in Chapter 12 seems like the book's climactic moment, and The Queen's court is the only place in the book where Alice has ever come to feel like she is in true danger. However, Carroll quickly returns Alice to the normal world from which hyperbole is noticeably absent.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12 - Alice's Evidence
Explanation and Analysis—The Queen of Hearts:
Carroll often uses hyperbole, or exaggerated overstatement, to describe the Red Queen. His extreme language underscores how volatile and angry her character becomes when people are disobedient. In Chapter 8, the Queen orders Alice dead after she discovers the painted roses:
The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed “Off with her head! Off with—”
“Nonsense!” said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.
Not only is the Queen's reaction extreme in comparison to the issue of the roses; so is Carroll's description of her rage. He compares her to a wild beast and invites the reader to wonder: does the Queen merely blush or literally turn "crimson"? In a realistic novel, readers might assume the former. But this is Wonderland, and she is the Queen of Hearts, so she might very well have the capacity to turn bright red.
Another example of hyperbole appears in Chapter 8 during the croquet game:
The players all played at once without waiting for turns, quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting “Off with his head!” or “Off with her head!” about once in a minute.
Many of the story's most hyperbolic scenes involve the Queen of Hearts. Her extreme reactions and violent outbursts make her the perfect character around which to build hyperbolic descriptions of the extent of Wonderland's madness. The trial in Chapter 12 seems like the book's climactic moment, and The Queen's court is the only place in the book where Alice has ever come to feel like she is in true danger. However, Carroll quickly returns Alice to the normal world from which hyperbole is noticeably absent.
Related Themes:
