Puns in Romeo and Juliet

No one can doubt the sheer brilliance of William Shakespeare. Here was a man that changed the entire face of the English language. Of the many plays that Shakespeare penned, one of the most famous one, that has become synonymous with love stories is Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, even in the midst of a tragic love story, managed to keep the humor factor alive in the form of puns in Romeo and Juliet.

There are certain characters that can be found to be humorous in many ways. Mercutio always uses puns deliberately while Peter indulges in witty punning at all the inappropriate times. The nurse tends to bring out the humor by using puns and by repeating statements she has said before. These different characters have been added so as to lighten the atmosphere and add a touch of reality to the story. Shakespeare was a brilliant punster and used puns for many purposes in his plays. They helped to lighten a tragic scene or at times, managed to stump the audience when delivered correctly or sometimes, even camouflaged a situation or a feeling that a person is actually trying to convey.

Examples of Puns

Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.

Mercutio: That dreamers often lie
Romeo: In bed asleep, while they do dream things true. Dreamers lie (are false), and lie (down)

Mercutio: You are a lover; borrow Cupid's wings,
And soar with them above a common bound.
Romeo: I am too sore enpierced with his shaft

Mercutio (on being fatally wounded): Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.

Sampson: Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals
Gregory: No, for then we should be colliers
Sampson: I mean, an [if] we be in choler, we'll draw
Gregory: Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the collar

Gregory: The quarrel is between our masters and us their men.
Sampson: 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant. When I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids, and cut off their heads.
Gregory: The heads of the maids?
Sampson: Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.

Give me a torch. I am not for this ambling. Being but heavy, I will bear the light.

What dost thou make us minstrels? And thou makes minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords.

We see the ground (earth/reason) whereon these woes do lie; But the true ground of all these piteous woes. We cannot without circumstance descry.

Mercutio: Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.
Romeo: Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes.
With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead
So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.

The puns are frequently lewd in nature and more often than not, tend to have sexual innuendos. However, we must understand that this play is written keeping in mind the Elizabethan era. The audience at that time immensely enjoyed such puns. After all, imagine a setting where double-entendres and puns in Romeo and Juliet are being said out loud in a play with a rapt audience trying to grapple with what is being said against what is being implied. Truly, this is where the beauty of the English language lies! There were many other forms of humor that William Shakespeare employed in his plays as he always wanted to startle his audiences and treat them to something unexpected, by manipulating language, creating puns, rhyming poetry, and striking similes, metaphors, and other various figures of speech. So, I hope you enjoyed these examples of puns, because I surely found them to be very punny!