Anastrophe

Anastrophe is the deliberate inversion of normal English word order, moving an object, complement or modifier ahead of where it usually goes to throw emphasis onto it.

English expects subject, then verb, then object. Anastrophe (pronounced uh-NAS-truh-fee) breaks that order on purpose.

• Ordinary: I have never seen a worse draft.
• Inverted: A worse draft I have never seen.

The moved element takes the stress, and the sentence acquires a formality the plain version does not have.

Anastrophe examples

The King James Bible is full of it:

• Silver and gold have I none (Acts 3:6). Why it works: the thing he lacks comes first, so the refusal is the headline.
• Blessed are the meek (Matthew 5:5). Why it works: blessed comes before its subject, so the promise is heard before we know who it is for.

In modern prose it is usually one fronted phrase:

• Strange, the things you remember. Why it works: the judgement comes first, then what it judges.
• Home he went, and he did not come out for a week. Why it works: the destination arrives first and slows the sentence down, which suits a man retreating.

Yoda in Star Wars speaks almost entirely in it, which is a useful warning: overused, it stops sounding elevated and starts sounding like a costume.

When it works

• One inversion in a paragraph. One reads as emphasis; two read as a style; three read as a bit.
• When the fronted element is the point. Move the word the reader should hear first. A cleft sentence (It was the draft that I hated) does the same job with less risk.
• At the end of a build. It is one way to shape a periodic sentence, since inverting the order usually pushes the main point towards the end.

Common mistakes

• Inverting to force a rhyme or a rhythm. In verse this is the classic weakness, and in prose it sounds worse.
• The wrong voice. In close third person or first person, the narration should sound like the character. An inverted sentence in the middle of a plain-spoken point of view sounds like the author leaning in.
• Unclear meaning. If the reader cannot tell which noun is the subject, put the sentence back in order.

Frequently asked questions

What is anastrophe in simple terms?

Anastrophe is changing the usual order of words in a sentence on purpose, for emphasis. Instead of 'I have never seen a worse draft', you write 'A worse draft I have never seen'.

How do you pronounce anastrophe?

It is pronounced uh-NAS-truh-fee. The name comes from Greek and means a turning back.

What is the difference between anastrophe and hyperbaton?

Hyperbaton is the broader term for any departure from normal word order, including splitting up words that belong together. Anastrophe is the simplest kind: swapping the usual order of two elements.