Pun
Last Updated on February 25, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 102
Pun (also called paronomasia) - a play on words or the humorous use of a word emphasizing a different meaning or application. They have been called by some “the lowest form of humor.”
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The term comes from combining two Greek words: para, meaning “beside,” and onomasia, meaning “naming.”
Puns have appeared in literature since Homer’s writings in the Eighth Century B.C.
There is a famous pun uttered by Mercutio as he is dying in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:
“Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”
Act III, scene i : lines 97 – 98
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