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word inversion

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

The reversal of normal word order for emphasis or metrical purposes.

Detailed Definition
Word inversion is a syntactic rearrangement that places words in unexpected order—such as object before subject—to create emphasis, archaic tone, or rhythmic variation; common in classical and Romantic poetry, it disrupts natural speech for heightened poetic effect.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Sweet is the night” instead of “The night is sweet”; “Gone are the days of youth” vs. “The days of youth are gone”; “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Biblical inversion); “Dark the path ahead” for “The path ahead is dark”
Additional Notes
word inversion: The deliberate reversal of the natural or common word order in a sentence or phrase (e.g., a man I saw instead of I saw a man); formally called anastrophe or inversion; used for emphasis, rhyme, or to maintain meter.
Also Known As
Anastrophe Inverted word order Word reversal Hyperbaton
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