Question

which phrase from the proposal is an example of hyperbole?
a. mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants...
b. some persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern about that vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed... it is very well known, that they are every day dying as fast as can be reasonably expected.
c. from which number i subtract thirty thousand couple, who are able to maintain their own children, (although i apprehend there cannot be so many, under the present distresses of the kingdom)
d. i again subtract fifty thousand babies, for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident or disease within the year.

Explanation:

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally. In option B, the phrase "they are every day dying as fast as can be reasonably expected" is an exaggeration. It is unlikely that people are actually dying at the maximum rate "reasonably expected" every single day. This is a hyperbolic way of emphasizing the high mortality rate among the poor, aged, diseased, or maimed.

Answer:

B. Some persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern about that vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed... it is very well known, that they are every day dying as fast as can be reasonably expected.