What is the literary term for the reversal of normal word order in a sentence?

The literary term for the reversal of normal word order in a sentence is inversion. Inversion involves rearranging the standard subject-verb-object order to achieve a particular effect, often to create emphasis or maintain a rhyme scheme in poetry. This technique can also lend a formal or stylistic quality to writing, drawing attention to specific parts of the sentence and enhancing the reader's engagement with the text.

In contrast, an oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms, like "deafening silence," to create a new, often paradoxical meaning. A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unrelated things, suggesting that one is the other, without using "like" or "as." A paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory or illogical but may reveal a deeper truth. Each of these terms has its own distinct meaning and function in literary analysis, but they do not describe the phenomenon of reversed word order that inversion does.