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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 14: “Le Roi est mort—vive le Roi”
Explanation and Analysis—The King's Hose:
In this scene, Twain uses hyperbole to mock the concerns of the royal household. While Tom is being dressed for a day as Edward, a team of servants pass him clothing and watch his every move. A hole is discovered in the King’s hose, throwing the household into disarray:
[The hose] finally reached the hands of the Chief Equerry in Waiting, who gazed for a moment with a pallid face, upon what had caused all this dismay, then hoarsely whispered, “Body of my life, a tag gone from the truss-point!–to the Tower with the Head Keeper of the King’s Hose!”–after which he leaned upon the shoulder of the First Lord of the Buckhounds to regather his vanished strength [...]
The servants collectively freak out over the hole (“all this dismay”) and pass the garment to one another in disbelief. The Equerry (a kind of royal attendant) suggests sending the man responsible (“Keeper of the King’s hose”) to the Tower of London (a famous prison and site of executions). He nearly faints at the impropriety of the event.
Twain is using the deliberately exaggerated reaction of the Equerry and the servants for comic effect, to poke fun at how insignificant the troubles of the wealthy in this era are. Compared to Tom’s normal life, where he endures abuse and must beg to support his family, Edward’s troubles seem ludicrously minor. Tom’s surprise and mystification at the customs of the palace mirror the reader’s, and contribute to Twain’s critique of class inequality throughout the book.
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