For me, anastrophe was never anything more than a rhetorical device.This writer would agree with you, AnnaS, at least insofar as metaphor can be considered a "rhetorical device":
"Metaphorically, the flow of life events can be seen to be like a stream where the various layers of liquids of different viscosity, temperature, colours, etc. appear as a single mass, but flow relatively separated.
Periodically, the parallel trajectories are seriously disrupted either by willful human intervention or through the unpredictable emergence of disturbing elements or forces. Such interruption and resultant disturbance are to be expected as social manifestations of the divergence syndrome.
When disturbances occur the steady state of linear laminar flow becomes punctuated by vortices of social turbulence. Such turbulence may be thought of as
anastrophe, a whirlpool in the stream, the force of a vortex which pulls away and randomly mixes the otherwise smoothly flowing strands of social ides and events.
Anastrophic vortices are the places from which major social change spring, taking off in new directions with unpredictable power and consequences.
Individuals who seek to trigger or evoke powerful social changes, who create
anastrophe in the flow of social events, by the introduction of disruptive ideas and actions, take great risks. They may not understand, control or predict the fractal divergences they unleash, and may become victims of the undiscriminating forces they create.
Some may lose their head on the guillotine as did Robespiere, attract only 0.5 % of the primary vote for President as did Gorbachev in the recent Russian elections, be nailed to a cross as was Jesus, or gain enmity of the majority of people as often happen with innovative thinkers and leaders.
Metaphorically, they drown in the
anastrophic whirlpool they create or suffocate under avalanches of criticality they trigger.
It is this that we have termed the Gorbachev Phenomenon. We have named this phenomenon after Gorbachev because he, more than any other person in recent history, personifies the effect described. Arguably, he almost single-handedly brought about changes that will amplify into changes in world history. For his interventions, he firstly earned the Nobel Prize followed by the unforgiving enmity of contemporary Russian society."
For complete "Discussion", go to:
http://journal-ci.csse.monash.edu.au/ci/vol03/dimitro/dimitro.html
