Puns and Character Foils

What is a Pun?

pun, or paronomasia, is a form of word play that deliberately exploits an ambiguity between similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect.

Such ambiguity may arise from the intentional misuse of homophonical, homographical, homonymic, polysemic, metonymic or metaphorical language.

Play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Example

“...ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.”-Mercutio

Grave meaning "serious", but in this case, dead. {Act III}

Another pun from Romeo and Juliet is when Montague is speaking of Romeo's depression. The line "Away from the light steals home my heavy son," makes a pun on the sun

Character Foil

A foil is a person who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight various features of the main character's personality: to throw the character of the protagonist into sharper focus.

a character who represents a sharp contrast with the protagonist and thus serves to stress and highlight the protagonists distinctive temperament

Examples

Rosaline to Juliet

Paris to Romeo

Mercutio to Romeo