An Analysis of Puns in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Liu Changrui Wang Xiaoli

【Abstract】The play Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare is one of the most great tragedies in the world.Even through it is not in the Four Great Tragedies of Shakespeare，the play had won many readers and audiences tear.Shakespeare is such a great writer that he used many writing techniques to model his characters.The most obvious technique is the use of pun.This thesis is going to make a simple research of the puns in the play.

【Key words】Romeo and Juliet； homophonic puns； homograohic puns

Romeo and Juliet is the story of two lovers， who were secretly married and suddenly separated， and it involves a magic potion whose effects simulate death. It is an old story—much older than Shakepeares play， the basic plot can be found as early as the third century A.D. At first the Italians claimed that the events were contemporary and factual； even today tourists in Verona can be shown the tomb and balcony of Giulietta. Montage and Capulet， the names of the two households invited in the action， are indeed historical.

The Use of Homophonic Puns

Generally speaking，a pun is a figure of speech that is used to imply the speaker's intention underlying its literal meaning with particular words in the same or similar pronunciation.In other words，pun enables an utterance to double or even triple its meanings through its surface meaning and implied meaning，the former is what we have seen and heard， while the latter is the focus and real intention of the speaker，which should be carefully recognized by the hearer.

In that age，the Verona of Elizabeth，marriage is nothing but a trade.The old Capulet dreams to match his daughter to the young noble Paris，in order to exchange his daughters beauty and youth for status，power and fortune.So he said this to Paris：

“The earth hath seallowed all my hopes but she；

She is the hopeful lady of my earth，

But woo her，gentle Paris，...”

（Romeo and Juliet I.ii.）

Here the pun is in the word “earth”，which have strongly satirized the old Capulet's greed and predicted Juliet's tragic fate as well.The old Capulet is almost begging Paris to take his daughter to wife.His motivation is no more than acquire the glory and wealth.Shakespeare uses the word“earth”，implying not only “land”（property and soil） but also “grave”.On the one hand，this word reveals the greedy old Capulets intention to match his daughter to Paris，on the other hand，the word “earth” also foresees Juliet's doomed fate that she was too beautiful to long live on the earth，she would finally be covered by the ruthless earth，or in other words， grave.

The Use of Homographic Puns

There are also Homographic Puns in the play.

Not I，believe me.You have dancing shoes with nimble soles，

I have a soul of lead.

So takes me to the ground I cannot move.

（Romeo and Juliet I.iv.）

There are totally three kind of meanings in the comparison of two words “sole” and “soul”.

The first one is the comparison of “sole” and “soul”，which means every other in the ball has the nimble sole，only Romeo himself has a lead soul that makes him unhappy.The second one is the comparison of “sole” and “sole” ：you have dancing shoes with nimble soles；I have a soul（=sole），of lead.Means that even if he has the shoes，he still cant dance.The third one is the comparison of “soul” and “soul”：you have dancing shoes with nimble soles（=souls）；I have a soul of lead.Means that it is his soul that makes him gloomy and unable to dance.All of this three situation can be used to understand the real mood of Romeo in play.Each one of them is correct.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that great improvements are still needed since this thesis hasn't dealt with all the puns that have appeared in Romeo and Juliet.Romeo and Juliet is a tragicomedy that contains more than 170 puns according to existing statistics，which has established Shakespeare as the master of punning.There is no doubt that great improvements are still needed since this thesis hasn't dealt with all the puns that have appeared in Romeo and Juliet.To research into it more thoroughly，more efforts are needed.