(For information regarding my Shakespeare Lectures: georgewalllectures@gmail.com)
Showing posts with label Shakespeare's hyperbole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shakespeare's hyperbole. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Some of my favourite moments in Shakespeare fall into the category of hyperbole, which could be defined as exaggeration for descriptive purposes. And often there's a touch of humour involved as a bonus. A wonderful example occurs in act four, scene one of Henry VIII, as two gentlemen standing on a street in Westminster, having just watched the passing of the procession after the coronation of Anne Bullen (as she's called in the play), are joined by a third, who was inside the Abbey for the event. The first gentleman greets him with: "God save you, sir! Where have you been broiling?" He then receives the reply: "Among the crowd i' the Abbey; where a finger/ Could not be wedged in more..." That says it all, doesn't it?