Literary notes about invoke (AI summary)
In literature, the term "invoke" is richly versatile, often signifying the act of summoning divine or supernatural powers, as seen when characters call upon deities for protection, aid, or blessing ([1], [2], [3]). It can also denote a formal appeal to authority or the law, whether to legitimize actions or to assert a claim ([4], [5], [6]). Beyond these spiritual and juridical contexts, authors employ "invoke" to suggest the resurrection of memories or order from chaos, imbuing moments with gravitas and emotional intensity ([7], [8]). This multifaceted use demonstrates how invoking something—be it a deity, principle, or memory—serves as a powerful literary device to connect the tangible world with forces seen but unseen.
- However, there is a class of magicians who are called Wind-sorcerers, and witches often invoke the aid of the Mother of the Wind.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The shouting crew their ships with garlands bind, Invoke the sea gods, and invite the wind.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil - 'We must invoke the Father of all things,' said I; 'for without this no enterprise sets out from a right beginning.'
— from The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius - [426] Here it is clear that the cause which I first suggested fails to apply, and that we must invoke another.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - The great man had the audacity to invoke the law to compel her to return, as she had not given statutable notice of her flight.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - And really, after a day or two of confusion worse confounded, it was delightful by degrees to invoke order from the chaos ourselves had made.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - What could I do but invoke a silent blessing on Miss Mills’s head, and store Miss Mills’s address in the securest corner of my memory!
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
