Show how the writer is able to create humour by using exaggeration in his narration. Relate at least two examples.

"And we sit there, by its margin, while the moon, who loves it too, stoops down to kiss it with a sister’s kiss, and throws her silver arms around it clingingly; and we watch it as it flows, ever singing, ever whispering, out to meet its king, the sea—till our voices die away in silence, and the pipes go out..."

This passage is a prime example of the flowery, exagerated style that Jerome adopts when he departs from his comic style, which is faster-paced and more concise. In the nineteenth century and today, the novel's critics take issues with its rapid shifting between styles. In some sections, Jerome affects a serious, romantic style as a parody, rather than in earnest. In other sections, it is unclear whether he is writing this way ironically or sincerely.