A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Class 23: Puns and Malapropisms (Act 3)

Literary Device: Puns and Malapropisms

There has probably never been, nor likely will ever be, a writer who has had such a mastery of language or delighted as much in its potential as William Shakespeare. The comedic premise of A Midsummer Night’s Dream offers the playwright the opportunity to have fun with language, often in the form of puns and malapropisms.

Puns are a way to use words to create two levels of meanings. Malapropisms are the unintentional misuse of words, something Bottom is constantly guilty of doing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream....

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