Puns in poetry can be profound and explore deeper meanings of language. Shakespeare used puns for irony, while modern limericks use them for comedy.
A pun, or paronomasia, is a type of pun in which a word is used to suggest a homophone, a word with a similar sound but a different meaning. Puns are sometimes considered a “low” form of humor, which may inspire a smile or a groan, but has little potential for exploring the deeper meanings of language. In reality, however, puns in poetry have a variety of uses and can be quite profound. Puns in poetry can be used for purely comic effect, but they can also convey a sense of dark irony.
Many 17th-century English poets explored the use of puns for ironic effect. John Donne, for example, often played with the meaning of his surname, which is pronounced like the English word “done,” and with his wife Anne’s maiden name, which was More. This one-line poem conveys the hardship of her marriage’s early years: “John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone.” While there is some irony in the repetition of the sound, the overall effect is one of desperation rather than humour.
William Shakespeare is perhaps the most famous punster in English literature, employing puns in poetry that range from the obscene to the silly to the earnest, often all in the same work. His manic, pun-loving character Hamlet, for example, tells Ophelia in one scene, “Go to a convent!” The word “convent” in this sentence can either mean “nunnery” or a now-obsolete meaning for “brothel”. While a modern audience might miss this pun, Shakespeare’s original audience would have felt all the biting irony of a line that succinctly captures Hamlet’s rage and thinly veiled desire to hurt Ophelia. The same game also uses puns to explore themes of death and sexuality, contradicting the idea that puns cannot have meaning beyond the depth of the basic pun.
In modern writings, however, puns in poetry are more often used as a form of comedy, especially in the poetic form of the limerick, a five-line poem written in a singsong metre. The early 20th century poet Carolyn Wells wrote a limerick that closes with the line, “To tutor two tooters to toot,” which uses sound work to play on the homophonic pair “tutor” – to teach, and “tooter ” – someone who plays a musical instrument. Often, however, the puns in a limerick aren’t so innocent, playing on the many English euphemisms for body parts and sex acts. An obscene limerick poem might, for example, use the word “come” to refer to both someone literally getting somewhere and a sexual climax.
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