What is the meaning of a peck of provender in shakespeares midsummer's night dream?

Answer 1

A peck is a dry measurement of 16 pints, and four pecks make a bushel, but it's unlikely that Bottom is being precise when he says he could munch a peck of provender. He would just like to have a quantity of 'provender'. ie., corn or hay, and he goes on to specify that what he wants are oats, a cereal customarily fed to horses. Provender is usually the word applied to dry food given to animals.

Answer 2

In Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a "peck of provender" is a measurement of food for animals, specifically referring to a quantity of dried food for horses or livestock. It is used figuratively in the dialogue between Demetrius and Helena as a metaphor for love, describing the amount of affection that Demetrius has for Helena as being small and insignificant.