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Literary notes about Invocation (AI summary)

The term "invocation" in literature often denotes an appeal to higher powers—be they deities, muses, or supernatural forces—to lend an air of solemnity and legitimacy to the work. It appears as an opening call to a protective or creative entity, such as the appeal to Mata Sakambhari Devi for safeguarding entire races [1] or the summoning of a muse to set the tone for what is to follow [2]. In some instances, invocation takes on a ritualistic or magical quality, where it serves as the conduit between the mortal and the divine, as when a spell is initiated with the invocation of a legendary figure [3] or ancestral spirits receive offerings through a carefully chanted formula [4]. At times, this device not only marks the beginning of narrative or performance—as in public assemblies called into being by a sacred invocation [5]—but also encapsulates the emotional core of a character's experience or the thematic underpinnings of an entire work. Overall, invocation functions as a bridge, linking human effort with the mysterious realms beyond and inviting both participation and reflection from its audience [6, 7].
  1. The first list is headed by an invocation to Mata Sakambhari Devi, or mother-goddess, protectress of the races (sakha)
    — from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 by James Tod
  2. My invocation Is fair and honest, and, in his mistress’ name, I conjure only but to raise up him.
    — from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  3. This exordium contains at first the invocation of the name of the mulukwausi , who was the source of the spell.
    — from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski
  4. In a number of magical formulæ, there is an invocation of ancestral spirits, and they receive offerings in several rites.
    — from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski
  5. "And their public assemblies," continues our author, "were always opened by an invocation to the Holy Ghost.
    — from The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors; Or, Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves
  6. [185] Muses : The invocation comes now, the First Canto being properly an introduction.
    — from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
  7. The invocation of Amida is a meritorious act of the believer, much repetition being the substance of this combination of personal and vicarious work.
    — from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis

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