Both Uses of
repress
in
Leaves of Grass
- body, the bashful
withdrawing of flesh where the fingers soothingly pause and
edge themselves,
The limpid liquid within the young man,
The vex'd corrosion so pensive and so painful,
The torment, the irritable tide that will not be at rest,
The like of the same I feel, the like of the same in others,
The young man that flushes and flushes, and the young woman that
flushes and flushes,
The young man that wakes deep at night, the hot hand seeking to
repress what would master him,
The mystic amorous night, the strange half-welcome pangs, visions, sweats,
The pulse pounding through palms and trembling encircling fingers,
the young man all color'd, red, ashamed, angry;†Chpt 4
- His face is cold and damp, he cannot repress the weeping drops,
He lifts the glass perpetually to his eyes, the color is blanch'd
from his cheeks,
He sees the slaughter of the southern braves confided to him by
their parents.†Chpt 28 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(repress) to hold something back
or:
to subjugate (oppress or hold others down) -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In psychology, repress has a more specialized meaning where something is put out of one's consciousness. For example, someone with repressed anger may not consciously realize they are angry, yet the anger still affects their mind and body.