What are litota and hyperbole: examples in fiction

The Russian language today is one of the ten most beautiful and, according to linguists, it contains about half a million words, not including professionalisms and dialects. Great Russian writers contributed to the development of the Russian literary language, thanks to which the language was replenished with artistic and expressive means that are used in writing and in speech today.

The development of the Russian literary language and the first paths

The literary Russian language began to form in the 11th century, during the existence of the state of Kievan Rus. Then the first chronicles and masterpieces of Old Russian literature were created. Even a thousand years ago, the authors used the language (tropes): personification, epithet, metaphor, hyperbole and litota. Examples of these terms are still common today both in fiction and in everyday speech.

The concepts of "hyperbole" and "litota"

Having heard the term "hyperbole" for the first time, historians will certainly correlate it with the legendary country Hyperborea, and mathematicians will remember the line consisting of two branches, which is called hyperbole. But how does this term relate to literature? Hyperbole is one that is used to enhance the expressiveness of a statement and deliberate exaggeration. It is easy to guess that this term has an antonym, because if the language has means for exaggeration, there must certainly be a stylistic figure serving to understate. Such artistic and expressive means is litota. The following examples will clearly show what litota is and how often it is used in speech.

A thousand-year history of hyperbole

Hyperbole is very often found in ancient Russian literature, for example, in "The Lay of Igor's Campaign": "You ring Tom's morning in Polotsk, early at St. Sophia's bells, and he hears the ringing in Kyev." Analyzing the proposal, one can understand the meaning: the sound of the bell that rang in Polotsk reached Kiev! Of course, in reality this cannot be, otherwise the inhabitants of nearby settlements would have lost their hearing. The term has a Latin origin: hyperbole means "exaggeration". Hyperbole was used by almost all poets and writers, but Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin stood out especially for its frequent use in their works. So, in Gogol's play "The Inspector General" on the table was "a watermelon of seven hundred rubles" - another exaggeration, because a watermelon cannot cost so much, unless it is, of course, gold. In Mayakovsky's "An Extraordinary Adventure," the sunset blazed "at one hundred and forty suns," that is, incredibly bright.

Litota in fiction

Having found out the meaning of hyperbole, it will be quite easy to figure out the litota. Gogol also often referred to this term. In the story "Nevsky Prospect", he described the mouth of one person so small that he could not miss more than two pieces. In Nikolai Nekrasov's famous poem "Peasant Children", the hero is a little man with a fingernail, but this does not mean his height is a centimeter: the cast author only wanted to emphasize that an old short man carries a heavy armload of firewood. Suggestions with a litota can be found also from other authors. By the way, this term originated from the Greek word litotes, which means "simplicity, restraint."

Litota and hyperbole in everyday speech

A person, without noticing it, uses hyperbole and litota in everyday life very often. If you can still guess about the meaning of hyperbole thanks to the well-known one-root verb "hyperbolize", what is litota - for many remains a mystery. Having gone bankrupt, the rich man will say: "I have money - the cat cried," and when you see a tiny girl walking down the street, you can notice what a "little girl" she is, and if it is a little guy - "a boy with a finger." These are the most common examples of litota. Each of us also uses hyperbole very often, for example, having met by chance with a friend, the first remark will be "not seen for a hundred years," and the mother, tired of making the same remark to her fidget son, will say: "I told you a thousand times!" ... So, we can once again conclude that not everyone knows what litota and hyperbole are, but even a three-year-old child uses these techniques.

Cultural significance of the trails

The role of stylistic figures in the Russian language is great: they give an emotional coloring, enhance images and make speech more expressive. Without them, the works of Pushkin and Lermontov would lose their splendor, and now you can more confidently use beautiful speech patterns, because you know, for example, what litota is.

In literature, it is impossible to do without these techniques, which make the Russian language one of the most expressive, complex and rich. So take care of the Russian language - this treasure, this property, as Turgenev and our other outstanding compatriots bequeathed to us.