Anastrophe
Encyclopedia
Anastrophe is a figure of speech
in which a language's usual word order is inverted: for example, saying "smart you are" to mean "you are smart".
In English, because its natural word order is settled, anastrophe emphasizes the displaced word or phrase. For example, the name of the City Beautiful urbanist movement emphasizes "beautiful"; similarly, in the line "This is the forest primeval" (from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
's Evangeline
), "primeval" comes to the fore. Where the emphasis that comes from anastrophe is not an issue, "inversion" is a perfectly suitable synonym.
Yoda
from the Star Wars
series commonly uses anastrophe.
Mingella and Blobbelda Winkybunion from the Banjo-Kazooie
series use it too.
Anastrophe is common in Greek
and Latin
poetry. For example, in the first line of the Æneid
:
the genitive case
noun Troiæ ("of Troy") has been separated from the noun it governs (oris, "shores") in a way that would be rather unusual in Latin prose. In fact, given the liberty of Latin word order
, "of Troy" might be taken to modify "arms" or "the man", but it is not the custom to interpret the word that way.
Anastrophe also occurs in English poetry. For example, in the third verse of Coleridge
's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
:
the word order of "his hand dropt he" is not the customary word order in English, even in the archaic
English that Coleridge seeks to imitate. However, excessive use of the device where the emphasis is unnecessary or even unintended, especially for the sake of rhyme or metre, is usually considered a flaw; consider the clumsy versification of Sternhold and Hopkins's metrical psalter
:
However, some poets have a style that depends on heavy use of anastrophe. Gerard Manley Hopkins
is particularly identified with the device, which renders his poetry susceptible to parody
:
When anastrophe draws an adverb to the head of a thought, for emphasis, the verb is drawn along too, resulting in a verb-subject inversion:
Source: public domain 1913 Webster's Dictionary
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
in which a language's usual word order is inverted: for example, saying "smart you are" to mean "you are smart".
In English, because its natural word order is settled, anastrophe emphasizes the displaced word or phrase. For example, the name of the City Beautiful urbanist movement emphasizes "beautiful"; similarly, in the line "This is the forest primeval" (from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
's Evangeline
Evangeline
Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, is an epic poem published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians.The idea for the poem came from...
), "primeval" comes to the fore. Where the emphasis that comes from anastrophe is not an issue, "inversion" is a perfectly suitable synonym.
Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
from the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
series commonly uses anastrophe.
-
- "Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse."
- "Mind what you have learned. Save you it can."
- "If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."
Mingella and Blobbelda Winkybunion from the Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie is a platform and action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998...
series use it too.
-
- "Grunty's sisters you should not mock, now watch our magic blast this rock!” -Mingella
- "Seen us bony man has. Him we must whack!" -Mingella
- "Quickly we must go, or angry Grunty will be!" -Blobbelda
- "Big rock is, so powers we must combine!" -Blobbelda
Anastrophe is common in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
poetry. For example, in the first line of the Æneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
:
- Arma virumque cano, Troiæ qui primus ab oris
- ("I sing of arms and the man, who first from the shores of Troy")
the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
noun Troiæ ("of Troy") has been separated from the noun it governs (oris, "shores") in a way that would be rather unusual in Latin prose. In fact, given the liberty of Latin word order
Word order
In linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders. Correlations between orders found in different syntactic subdomains are also of interest...
, "of Troy" might be taken to modify "arms" or "the man", but it is not the custom to interpret the word that way.
Anastrophe also occurs in English poetry. For example, in the third verse of Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and was published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 that featured a gloss...
:
- He holds him with his skinny hand,
- "There was a ship," quoth he.
- "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"
- Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
the word order of "his hand dropt he" is not the customary word order in English, even in the archaic
Archaism
In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...
English that Coleridge seeks to imitate. However, excessive use of the device where the emphasis is unnecessary or even unintended, especially for the sake of rhyme or metre, is usually considered a flaw; consider the clumsy versification of Sternhold and Hopkins's metrical psalter
Metrical psalter
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonizations...
:
- The earth is all the Lord's, with all
- her store and furniture;
- Yea, his is all the work, and all
- that therein doth endure:
- For he hath fastly founded it
- above the seas to stand,
- And placed below the liquid floods,
- to flow beneath the land.
However, some poets have a style that depends on heavy use of anastrophe. Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
is particularly identified with the device, which renders his poetry susceptible to parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
:
- Hope holds to Christ the mind’s own mirror out
- To take His lovely likeness more and more.
When anastrophe draws an adverb to the head of a thought, for emphasis, the verb is drawn along too, resulting in a verb-subject inversion:
- "Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance" (W. Eugene SmithW. Eugene SmithWilliam Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...
).
Source: public domain 1913 Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
External links
- Figures of rhetoric: Anastrophe