Both Uses of
emulate
in
Leaves of Grass
- I swear there is no greatness or power that does not emulate those of the earth,
Chpt 16 *emulate = imitate
- [II] Had I the Choice
Had I the choice to tally greatest bards,
To limn their portraits, stately, beautiful, and emulate at will,
Homer with all his wars and warriors—Hector, Achilles, Ajax,
Or Shakspere's woe-entangled Hamlet, Lear, Othello—Tennyson's fair ladies,
Metre or wit the best, or choice conceit to wield in perfect rhyme,
delight of singers;
These, these, O sea, all these I'd gladly barter,
Would you the undulation of one wave, its trick to me transfer,
Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse,
And leave its odor there.†Chpt 34
Definitions:
-
(1)
(emulate) imitate (copy or match)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, emulate can mean to try to reach equality is some sense -- as in "This artists' drawings cannot emulate his water colors."