Editing Hyperbole (section)

=== In literature ===
Hyperbole has been used throughout literature for many centuries. [[Heroic drama]], which is drama with an emphasis on grandeur and excess, often makes use of hyperbole to extend the effect and epic nature of the genre. Modern [[tall tale]]s also make use of hyperbole to exaggerate the feats and characteristics of their protagonists. For example, the American tall tale about [[Paul Bunyan]] relies heavily on hyperbole to establish Bunyan's giant stature and abilities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leengen|first=Marcus|date=2019-11-26|title=What is Hyperbole? 🕮 Hyperbole definition and meaning + examples|url=https://figurativelanguage.net/hyperbole.html|access-date=2020-09-18|website=Figurative Language}}</ref>

For hyperbole to be effective it needs to be obvious, deliberate, and outlandish. Using hyperbolic speech as a character trait can denote an unreliable narrator.

[[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]]'s ''Concord Hymn'' uses hyperbole in the lines "Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world."

In [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s ''Slaughterhouse-Five'', the protagonist emerges from his shelter to find total destruction, and makes the hyperbolic statement that "Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals." The hyperbole conveys how completely the city was ruined.