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Stylistic Peculiarities of Contextual Hyperbole 

in Sherwood Anderson’s “The Book of the Grotesque” 

and “Godliness”

The study of hyperbole in Sherwood Anderson’s shortstories is of great importance as hyperbole is a very
powerful stylistic means which favors the formation of the
writer’s individual style at the same time emphasizing its
peculiarities. It is a trope which consists of a deliberate and
intentional exaggeration of an action, feature or quality
which is accompanied by a specific prosodic pattern. As any
other trope it allows to say more than is readily seen on the
surface. 1 Hyperbole is a means through which literary per-
sonages are created. It helps to make the world of literature
“colorful”, becoming one of the most powerful and effective
means of impact, stirring the reader’s imagination and mind.
Hyperbole is not only a way of writing but also speaking. It

makes the speech sound more exciting, more dangerous, better or worse than it really is
(Hornby 2005:63). It is the result of a kind of intoxication by emotions which prevents a
person from seeing things in their true dimensions. If the reader or the listener is not car-
ried away by the emotion of the writer or the speaker, hyperbole becomes a mere lie. In
this connection V.V. Vinogradov adds that hyperbole is the law of art which brings phe-
nomena of life, diffused as they are, to the point of maximum clarity and conciseness
(Vinogradov 1953:74). 

Hyperbole is an irreplaceable stylistic means through which the most ridiculous, nega-
tive and sarcastic sides of life are expressed, hence it is often used for humorous or ironic
effect. It is also one of the best stylistic means for describing characters and their individu-
ality. The creative use of hyperbole in verbal art requires careful study and artistic effort.

The choice of Sherwood Anderson’s short stories for evaluating hyperbole is not acci-
dental: his literary prose abounds in different stylistic means, among which hyperbole
has its peculiar place. 

A literary text is considered a totality in which different stylistic means and allusive
elements are embraced. Because of this the reader has to go into the depth of the text,
observe its imagery thoroughly, find out those elements which are taken from another
text, in this way assimilating the two texts together. The choice of Sherwood Anderson’s
short stories is attractive in this sense too. Anderson’s literary prose is important for its
stylistic value, and as Anderson’s stories mostly reflect biblical elements, it is possible to
observe the intertextual links through biblical allusion. 

What we have especially focused on in the present paper by applying the notions of
background knowledge and vertical context is the stylistic peculiarities of contextual
hyperbole and its types in Anderson’s short stories, particularly in  “The Book of the

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Ani Kojoyan



Grotesque” and “Godliness” and, in the case of allusive hyperbole, the cognitive and aes-
thetic significance of the phenomenon. 

Observing instances, when hyperbole is combined with other stylistic devices in the
context of Anderson’s short stories, the following types have been distinguished: mixed
hyperbole (hyperbole combined with other stylistic means, shaped as instances of simi-
le, pun, antonomasia, irony, personification, etc.), non-mixed hyperbole (hyperbole
which is not combined with any other stylistic device) and biblical allusive hyperbole. 

Anderson’s renowned novel “Winesburg, Ohio” was written in an old house in Chicago
in a couple of months. While reading the short stories, readers can find glimpses of truth
about rural American life. Through the stories Anderson expresses his disappointment with
town life. His stories and what he describes in them are all grotesque and extravagant.  He
employs grotesque notions very nicely and skillfully, while his material is freighted with a
sense of reality. The grotesques are those people whose humanity has been outraged and who
had to suppress their wishes to love in order to survive in Winesburg. Anderson himself men-
tions that all the characters of “Winesburg, Ohio” are grotesques themselves. He defines
“grotesque” in this way: “Truths are beautiful but when truths become fixed in people’s lives
they turn people into grotesques – lonely, isolated distortions of people” (Anderson 1981).
Hence, grotesqueness implies both deformity and failure of dreams and emotions. 

The use of grotesque as a method by Anderson is not accidental. The opening story
entitled “The Book of the Grotesque” is somehow symbolic in the sense that all the other
stories are centered around it. It serves as a key to understanding the other stories because
the latter are the thematic continuation of the former, i.e. the opening story. Giving the
story such a title Anderson points to the possibility that all the ideas in his book should
be interpreted in terms of grotesque and exaggeration.

“The Book of the Grotesque” is about an old writer, his feelings, emotions and
thoughts. One of the central thoughts of his book is:

In the beginning when the world was young there were a great many
thoughts but not such thing as a truth. Man made the truths himself and
each truth was a composite of a great many vague thoughts. All about in
the world were the truths and they were all beautiful… There was the truth
of virginity and the truth of passion, the truth of wealth and of poverty, of
thrift and of profligacy, of carelessness and abandon. Hundreds and hun-
dreds were the truths and they were all beautiful. And then people came
along. Each as he appeared snatched up one of the truths and some who
were quite strong snatched up a dozen of them. 

(Anderson 27)

Here the whole extract bears an allegorical meaning, but in addition to this, the under-
lined part expresses hyperbolic meaning as well. 2 The word truth is an abstract and
uncountable noun on the semantic level (in the meaning of the quality or state of being
based on fact), while on the metasemiotic level; in the context of the present story, being
used in the plural form, it becomes countable. Still retaining its abstract character it

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acquires additional overtones: the truth is only one but when each person creates his own
truth, the so-called subjective truth, the truth stops to be a general notion, it rather indi-
cates falsehood, which is not truth at all. So, the use of an uncountable noun in the plu-
ral form brings about an obvious intentional exaggeration, which, in its turn, has an aes-
thetic impact on the reader. 

Moreover, in the word-combination a dozen of truths we have not only exaggeration
but also contrast because the word dozen indicates a group of twelve of the same things,
while in the context a group of different things is presented. Thus, for instance: there was
the truth of virginity, the truth of passion, the truth of wealth and poverty, the truth of
thrift and profligacy, of carelessness and abandon. So, it is here that not only hyperbol-
ic shades, but also the author’s ironical attitude become even more obvious. In the fol-
lowing sentence – Who were quite strong snatched up a dozen of them – the hyperbole
becomes more effective; the primary meaning of the verb snatch is itself very expressive:
“to take something quickly and often rudely and roughly, by force” (Hornby 2005).

In fact truth is not visible and because of this it cannot be taken. So, at this level the
metaphoric and hyperbolic meanings are merged, combined with each other. In another
sentence we read: Man made the truths. The verb made is used in the meaning of “cre-
ate”, whereas the truth cannot be made or created and a man, correspondingly, cannot be
a truth-maker. This usage enhances the metaphorical and ironical aspect of the utterance.
Considering that in the context the truths created by men are vicious, the word truth has
acquired its opposite meaning, that of untruth or falsehood.

The use of hyperbole interpreted in terms of irony helps to understand the whole
meaning of the story; through the use of hyperbole and irony Anderson expresses his dis-
appointment with the town and people living in it. 

In the following extract taken from the same story, another example of hyperbole is
found. It is formed in a very peculiar way – by bringing together words which are not
semantic synonyms, but rather function as contextual synonyms: 

In his bed the writer rolled over on his side and lay quite still. For years he
had been beset with notions concerning his heart. He was a hard smoker and
his heart fluttered. The idea had got into his mind that he would some time die
unexpectedly and always when he got into bed he thought of that. It did not
alarm him. The effect in fact was quite a special thing and not easily
explained. It made him more alive, there in bed, than at any other time.
Perfectly still he lay and his body was old and not of much use any more but
something inside him was altogether young. He was like a pregnant woman,
only that the thing inside him was not a baby but a youth. No, it wasn’t a
youth; it was a woman, young, wearing a coat of male like a knight. It is
absurd, you see, to try to tell what was inside the old writer as he lay on his
high bed and listened to the fluttering of his heart. The thing to get at is what
the writer, or the young thing within the writer, was thinking about.

(Anderson 1981:25)

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Here we have an example of simile based on hyperbole. The old writer is beset with
different kinds of notions and thoughts which disturb him all the time. To show the
writer’s excited emotional state the hyperbole emphasizes the troubling condition in
which the writer is. The contrast between the sick and old writer’s physical state and his
young spirit is revealed through the notion of young thing – youth expressed by the lex-
ical units baby, youth and young woman.

The exaggeration is formed by the change of the word baby into the word youth, and
the word youth into the word woman, which, in fact, turns into synonymic condensation.
The word baby means a very young child. We also know that briskness, liveliness, quick-
ness and vivacity are typical features of babies, as well as of young men and women. The
word youth indicates the time of life when a person is young, especially the time before
a child becomes an adult. As if trying to find the right definition of his inner state, his
ego, the writer finally, through gradation, arrives at the notion of a young woman wear-
ing a coat of male like a knight. Interestingly, the writer chooses young woman instead
of young man, thus pointing to another contrast in the image (male person with a female
soul), and enhancing the hyperbolic simile – he was like a pregnant woman. On the other
hand, the three words baby, youth, and the word woman in  combination with the adjec-
tive young become synonyms  on the metasemiotic level as all of them are contrasted to
the notion of old dying man. The synonymic condensation gives not only extra empha-
sis, a kind of meta-effect to the utterance, but also secures the gradual formation of
hyperbole. 

An example of hyperbole combined with another trope may be observed in the fol-
lowing sentence:

Winesburg had forgotten the old man, but in Doctor Reefy there were the
seeds of something very fine.

(Anderson 1981:33)

This is an example of antonomasia plus an exaggerative meaning. Instead of saying
people living in Winesburg had forgotten the old man the writer uses the place name
Winesburg but, of course, he does not mean the town itself. Through the name of the
place he refers to its people. On the other hand, however, we should take into consider-
ation that not all the people living there had forgotten the old man, but perhaps only a
part of them, and this is where hyperbole lies. Moreover, this example of hyperbole may
also be regarded as a case of metonymy based on some kind of association connecting
the two concepts: people and Winesbug. Additionally, there is an element of personifica-
tion: the human quality of forgetting is ascribed to a city which is an inanimate object and
is deprived of such a quality.

The following extract presents an example of a non-mixed hyperbole:

On that night when he had run through the fields crying for a son he
became excited to the edge of insanity.

(Anderson 1981:62)

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The edge of insanity is a hyperbole. The dictionary definition for the word edge is:
“the outside limit of an object” (Hornby 2005). As for the word insanity, it is “the state
of being mad” (Hornby 2005).  The nominal phrase edge of insanity acquires adjectival
meaning in the context, denoting the ultimate degree of madness. So, the noun edge gives
exaggerative overtones to the word-combination and shows Jesse’s inner and tense men-
tal emotional state. 

One of the stories entitled “Godliness” presents many interesting examples of allu-
sive hyperbole and here is one of them:

I am a new kind of man come into possession of these fields,” he declared.
“Look upon me, O God, and look Thou also upon my neighbors and all
the man who have gone before me here! O God, create in me another
Jesse, like that one of old, to rule over men and to be the father of sons
who shall be rulers! 

(Anderson 1981:52)

The proper noun Jesse is a biblical allusive name. It is the name of a biblical king –
David’s father who was the king of Israel. According to the Bible, God orders Samuel to
anoint David as king of Israel. The name of the biblical prototype is used in a complex way.
Firstly, it coincides with the protagonist’s name. Secondly, it indicates antonomasia: create in
me another Jesse. In this way the proper name Jesse becomes a common noun. Anderson’s
Jesse begs God to create in him the biblical Jesse, through whom to rule on earth. The selec-
tion of the name Jesse creates a contrast between the two Jesses. And by this contrast
Anderson not only shows his ironical attitude but also secures the interpretation of irony.
Moreover, the fictional Jesse obviously exaggerates his role, seeing himself as a patriarch.

Jesse works tirelessly on his farm and he also makes his employees, including his del-
icate wife, Katherine work all day long even when they are not able to bear it any more.
But at the same time he is afraid that someone like Philistine Goliath will take his lands
from him. He strongly believes he is chosen by God and it is God’s work that he has
come to the land. He wants God to notice and to talk to him. Jesse also asks God to send
him a son to be called David who will help him to pluck all of his lands out of the hands
of the Philistines. He compares all people around him with Goliath. The above narration
of the story embraces a sarcastic tone and is interpreted as irony, simultaneously being
combined with hyperbole. The hyperbolic meaning is expressed when the contrast
between the two Jesses – the biblical Jesse and the fictional one becomes obvious.
Moreover, Jesse’s farm is not comparable to the biblical Valley of Elah, however earnest-
ly he desires it to be.  It is obvious that without sufficient background knowledge the bib-
lical allusions and respectively the story could be misunderstood and misinterpreted.

The following passage also includes biblical allusive elements with hyperbolic shades:

A fantastic impulse half fear, half greediness, took possession of Jesse Bentley.
He remembered how in the old Bible story  the Lord had appeared to that
other Jesse and told him to send his son David to where Saul and the men of

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Israel were fighting the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. Into Jesse’s mind
came the conviction that all of the Ohio farmers who owned land in the val-
ley of Wine Creek were Philistines and enemies of God. “Suppose,” he whis-
pered to himself, “there should come from among them one who, like
Goliath, the Philistine of Gath, could defeat me and take from me my pos-
sessions. Jehovah of Hosts,” cried he, “send to me a son. Let thy grace
alight upon me. Send me a son called David who shall help me to pluck at
last all of these lands out of the hands of the Philistines and turn them to
Thy service and to the building of Thy kingdom on earth.

(Anderson 1981:54)

Anderson’s irony toward his character Jesse (Jesse is sure that he is the only person
chosen by Lord) is expressed through Jesse’s exaggerated self-respect, egotism and self-
esteem. Hyperbole and irony are created through the introduction of the two controver-
sial characters and hence, the grotesqueness of the situation. 

The identification with the biblical episodes continues in the next two parts of the
story, where Jesse wants to sacrifice a lamb – a similar episode is found in the Bible when
God orders Abraham to sacrifice his only son – Isaac, in order to test Abraham loyalty to
Him. Abraham obeys, and when he wants to sacrifice Isaac, the angel stops him and says
that God is pleased with him and that now He ascertains that Abraham is faithful to Him.
Instead of Isaac Abraham sacrifices a lamb that was sent by God.

After the feeling of exaltation that had come to the farmer as a result of his
successful year, another mood had taken possession of him. For a long time
he had been going about feeling very humble and prayful. Again he walked
alone at night thinking of God and as he walked he again connected his own
figure with the figures of old days. Under the stars he knelt on the wet grass
and rose up his voice in prayer. Now he had decided that like the men whose
stories filled the pages of the Bible, he would make a sacrifice to God.

(Anderson 1981:73)

In the passage taken from the story there is a hyperbole based on simile: like the men
whose stories filled the pages of the Bible. The following biblical allusion combined with
two other stylistic means – hyperbole and simile, is a means of characterization. The
obvious hyperbole is; Jesse identifies himself with the biblical character but evidently he
is not, and particularly he is not chosen by God.

Interestingly enough, when Jesse wants to sacrifice a lamb, he destroys his relations
with the grandson while in the original (in the Bible) Abraham who is going to sacrifice
his son, sacrifices a lamb, in this way keeping  and  re-establishing his relations with  the
son. So, this fact once more intensifies the contradiction and contrast between the
episodes of the story and the Bible.

Thus, taking into consideration the study of the theoretical material and the results of the
analysis of the above examples we may conclude that the use of hyperbole by Sherwood

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Anderson in his short stories serves as a means of characterization of his complex images
and personages. Moreover, it is directly connected with the author’s interpretation of the
grotesque and the aesthetic. Besides, in the context of Sherwood Anderson’s short stories
hyperbole is often fused with other stylistic devices: simile, irony, personification, pun, etc.
And finally, the notions of background knowledge and vertical context are essential for
the stylistic evaluation of hyperbole based on allusion, namely biblical allusion.

Notes:

1. Hyperbole is a device that is used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong
impression and emphasis.

2. The linguostylistic study of the hyperbole ensures a correct interpretation of the gener-
al semantic content and connotative meanings. Thus the study goes both along the lines
of semantic and metasemiotic levels of investigation. The latter allows to evaluate all
the additional overtones that the linguistic units have acquired in the context.

References:

1. Delahaunty, A. (2001) Oxford Dictionary of Allusions. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

2. Hornby, A.S. (2005) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

3. Pucci, J. (1998) The Full-Knowing Reader. Allusion and the Power of the Reader in
the Western Literary Tradition. USA: Yale University Press.

4. Vinogradov, V.V. (1953) Voprosy yazikoznaniya. M.: MGU Publishers.

Literature:

1. Anderson, Sh. (1981) Selected Short Stories. M.: Progress Publishers.

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