All 4 Uses of
invoke
in
Leaves of Grass
- Not for the bards of the past, not to invoke them have I launch'd
you forth,
Not to call even those lofty bards here by Ontario's shores,
Have I sung so capricious and loud my savage song.†Chpt 23invoke = call upon
- Bards for my own land only I invoke,
(For the war the war is over, the field is clear'd,)
Till they strike up marches henceforth triumphant and onward,
To cheer O Mother your boundless expectant soul.†Chpt 23
- You by my charm I invoke.†
Chpt 23 *
- A Riddle Song
That which eludes this verse and any verse,
Unheard by sharpest ear, unform'd in clearest eye or cunningest mind,
Nor lore nor fame, nor happiness nor wealth,
And yet the pulse of every heart and life throughout the world incessantly,
Which you and I and all pursuing ever ever miss,
Open but still a secret, the real of the real, an illusion,
Costless, vouchsafed to each, yet never man the owner,
Which poets vainly seek to put in rhyme, historians in prose,
Which sculptor never chisel'd yet, nor painter painted,
Which vocalist never sung, nor orator nor actor ever utter'd,
Invoking here and now I challenge for my song.†Chpt 32invoking = calling upon
Definition:
to call upon
The exact meaning of invoke can depend upon its context. For example:
- "invoking God's help"; or "invoking the spirit of the dead" -- to call upon a great or magical power
- "I invoke the First Amendment"; or "I invoke the words of Thomas Jefferson" -- to cite or call upon for validation
- "She invoked his sympathy and family memories." -- to call upon someone's feelings or memories
- "She invoked his assistance." -- to call earnestly for
- "The program invokes the subroutine" -- to call up a computer program