A-Z of Shakespeare – Y

Oxford Childrens

 

Today’s Shakespearean word of the day is… yoke

Y- yoke

The word yoke is used to mean servitude. It literally means a piece of wood that harnesses an animal to make it work.

In Julius Caesar, Cassius tells Casca: ‘Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish’ (Julius Caesar, 1.3 .84).

 

Shakespeare Dictionary _130This definition is taken from the Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary, a unique dictionary to unlock the mysteries of Shakespeare’s world, words and language, compiled by renowned English language expert David Crystal and Shakespearean actor and producer Ben Crystal.