Question

review the passage. the hyperbole is shown in bold.
true!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous i had been and am; but why will you say that i am mad? the disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. above all was the sense of hearing acute. i heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. how, then, am i mad? hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly i can tell you the whole story.
from edgar allan poe, \the tell - tale heart\
what is the effect of the hyperbole on the passages meaning or tone?
it suggests that the speaker is wise.
it produces a feeling of madness.
it creates an atmosphere of grandeur.

Explanation:

The hyperbole "I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth" is an over - the - top claim. In the context of "The Tell - Tale Heart", the narrator is trying to prove he is not mad but his extreme and unrealistic statement (hearing everything in heaven and earth) actually emphasizes his irrationality. The first option is wrong as the statement doesn't show wisdom. The third option is wrong as "grandeur" is not the tone here; the focus is on the narrator's mental state. So the hyperbole produces a feeling of madness.

Answer:

It produces a feeling of madness.