Hyperbaton as a Figure of Speech

Lecture

Hyperbaton (from Ancient Greek ὑπέρβατον, lit. «transposition») — a figure of speech in which the topic of an utterance is emphasized by being placed at the beginning or end of the phrase; in doing so, the syntactic connection may also be broken. In other words, hyperbaton is the separation of adjacent words. Along with anaphora, hyperbaton belongs to the figures of displacement (inversion).

Usage

Hyperbaton is used mainly to intensify the expressiveness of speech. Hyperbaton is a rather elaborate figure, leaving an impression of affectation, which is why it is rarely used in colloquial speech. However, this figure is often applied in poetry, or in analytical and other scholarly documents, to bring out meaning:

Firmly may the poor man's heart hold tears in scorn.

— A. D. Kantemir. Satire I. On Those Who Disparage Learning

And by the god of battles' grace
Is marked our every step.

— A. S. Pushkin. Poltava

Piebald is the ox of days.
Slow is the cart of years.

— V. V. Mayakovsky. Our March

Another well-known example of the use of hyperbaton is the speech of Master Yoda in George Lucas's cinematic saga «Star Wars».

Figures of speech
Figures	Adynaton • Allusion • Amplification • Anadiplosis • Anacoluthon • Anaphora • Antithesis • Antitheton • Apocope • Apostrophe • Attraction • Asyndeton • Hyperbaton •Homeoteleuton • Gradation (Climax, Anticlimax) • Distinctio • Zeugma • Isocolon • Nominative of theme • Inversion • Correctio • Mesarchia •Polyptoton • Polysyndeton • Oxymoron • Parallelism • Paronomasia • Parcellation • Periphrasis • Pleonasm • Prolepsis • Retardation •Rhetorical question • Rhetorical exclamation • Rhetorical address • Symploce • Solecism • Tautology • Exact repetition • Aposiopesis • Chiasmus • Exergasia •Ellipsis • Emphasis • Epiphora
Tropes	Allegory • Antiphrasis • Asteism • Antonomasia • Hyperbole • Dysphemism • Irony • Pun • Catachresis • Litotes • Meiosis • Metaphor • Metonymy • Personification •Pathos • Periphrasis • Sarcasm • Synecdoche • Simile • Euphemism • Epithet

Adynaton • Allusion • Amplification • Anadiplosis • Anacoluthon • Anaphora • Antithesis • Antitheton • Apocope • Apostrophe • Attraction • Asyndeton • Hyperbaton •Homeoteleuton • Gradation (Climax, Anticlimax) • Distinctio • Zeugma • Isocolon • Nominative of theme • Inversion • Correctio • Mesarchia •Polyptoton • Polysyndeton • Oxymoron • Parallelism • Paronomasia • Parcellation • Periphrasis • Pleonasm • Prolepsis • Retardation •Rhetorical question • Rhetorical exclamation • Rhetorical address • Symploce • Solecism • Tautology • Exact repetition • Aposiopesis • Chiasmus • Exergasia •Ellipsis • Emphasis • Epiphora

Tropes

Allegory • Antiphrasis • Asteism • Antonomasia • Hyperbole • Dysphemism • Irony • Pun • Catachresis • Litotes • Meiosis • Metaphor • Metonymy • Personification •Pathos • Periphrasis • Sarcasm • Synecdoche • Simile • Euphemism • Epithet