Hyperbaton involves the deliberate rearrangement of words in a sentence to create a different meaning or emphasis. This can include changing the order of adjectives, adverbs, or verbs, and can involve splitting a word or phrase between two parts of a sentence.
Examples of hyperbaton:
“To die, to sleep— To sleep, perchance to dream—” – This line from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” uses hyperbaton to emphasize the repetition of “to sleep”.
“Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste Brought death into the world” – This excerpt from Milton’s “Paradise Lost” uses hyperbaton to create a more complex sentence structure and emphasize the importance of the “forbidden tree.”
“Strong is the Force in you” – This line from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” uses hyperbaton to emphasize the speaker’s point.
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” – This famous quote by John F. Kennedy uses hyperbaton to create a more memorable and impactful sentence structure.
Original sentence: I must see this
Hyperbaton: This I must see (You invert/move position of words other than the verb or subject).
Anastrophe: See this, I must (Usually short sentences that make sense when inverted, it has an object-subject-verb order).
Inversion: Never must I see this. (usually starts with an adverb, and has verb-subject order)
“A closed window looks down
on a dirty courtyard, and black people
call across or scream across or walk across” is that a hyperbaton