Both Uses of
yoke
in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
- HERMIA So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, Ere I will yield my virgin patent up Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give sovereignty.†
Scene 1.1 *
- Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain, As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea Contagious fogs; which, falling in the land, Hath every pelting river made so proud That they have overborne their continents: The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain, The ploughman lost his sweat; and the green corn Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard: The fold stands empty in the drowned field, And crows are fatted with the murrion flock; The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud; And the quaint mazes in the wanton green, For lack of tread, are undistinguishable: The human mortals want thei†
Scene 2.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(yoke as in: the yoke of bondage) an oppressive burden or something that limits freedom
-
(2)
(yoke as in: oxen yoke) a wooden frame used to join beasts of burden so they pull together, or a connected pair, or the connecting of a pair
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) See a comprehensive dictionary for less common senses of the word including:
- a clothing item from which fabric is hung
- a control apparatus for an airplane or ship