Why do writers use understatements?
One of the most useful and powerful devices for the fiction writer is understatement. You tell the reader less so that the reader knows more. Instead of having everything spelt out, the reader is given, in a very careful way, just enough information for the imagination to go to work.
How do you use understatements?
Understatement is used when a speaker wants to a make a situation seem less strong or important than it is. For example, think about this situation: You have taken ten exams in school and passed them all with a score of 100%.
What is called understatement?
Understatement is an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected. It is the opposite of embellishment or exaggeration, and is used for emphasis, irony, hedging, or humor. A particular form of understatement using negative syntax is called litotes.
What is an understatement in literature?
Understatement is the description of something as having much less of a particular quality than it does. That often involves representing something as less important, less valuable, or smaller than it is. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole, the term that Professor Elena Passarello explains in her video.
What is a hyperbole in literature?
hyperbole, a figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect. Hyperbole is common in love poetry, in which it is used to convey the lover’s intense admiration for his beloved.
What is the purpose of Zeugma?
The zeugma is an interesting literary device that uses one word to refer to two or more different things in more than one way. Zeugmas will either confuse the reader or inspire them to think more deeply, but if they’re well written they will achieve the latter. Learn more about zeugmas through several examples.
How are euphemisms different from understatements?
As nouns the difference between euphemism and understatement is that euphemism is (uncountable) the use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive, blunt or vulgar than the word or phrase it replaces while understatement is a disclosure or statement that is less than complete.
What does understatement mean in literature?
What is an ironic understatement?
Most of the time when people refer to understatement, they’re referring to ironic understatement, which just means that the speaker is using understatement to say one thing with the intention of actually communicating something quite different.
What are some of the greatest understatements in history?
Their statements in the face of these situations are some of the greatest understatements ever recorded in history. Here are 10 examples: 1. The Problem Apollo 13 was scheduled to be the third lunar landing.
What is understatement?
Here’s a quick and simple definition: Understatement is a figure of speech in which something is expressed less strongly than would be expected, or in which something is presented as being smaller, worse, or lesser than it really is.
Why would a writer use understatement?
A writer might use understatement for a number of different reasons: When it’s used ironically, understatement can be an effective way of creating humor and adding depth to a text. It can also serve to emphasize exactly the thing being understated, through the juxtaposition of the literal meaning and the actual meaning.
What are some examples of understatement and litotes?
For example, if it was -50° outside and you said “it’s a bit chilly,” then your assessment would be understatement but not litotes (“I wouldn’t say it’s hot” would be an example of litotes). All examples of litotes are also examples of understatement, but not all understatement is litotes. Understatement appears all over the place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qPQGQ_bVI