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Backward figure

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhetorical figure that operates by reversing conventional syntactic or semantic order

Detailed Definition
Backward figure is a rhetorical or imagistic device in which a concept, image, or syntactic structure is presented in reverse or inverted order to create surprise, emphasize contrast, or suggest regression; this technique may involve chiasmus, retrograde metaphor, or temporal reversal, prompting readers to reconsider assumptions by viewing familiar ideas from an unexpected angle.
Example
Example in poetry:
E.E. Cummings’s “(listen)” reverses normal word order: “there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go”; Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –” delays the subject until after the verb; Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “The Windhover” uses sprung rhythm to invert expected stresses; Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” uses syntactic inversion for emotional intensity: “I have always been scared of you.”
Additional Notes
A backward figure reverses normal syntactic or logical order (e.g., anastrophe, chiasmus); creates emphasis, disruption, or lyrical density; common in Romantic and modernist poetry; useful for slowing reading pace or highlighting key words.
Also Known As
Anastrophic figure Inverted syntax Retrograde construction Syntactic reversal Inverse metaphor
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