Monday, May 25, 2009

What is a pun in Romeo and Juliet act 5?

A
is a play on words that sound alike but have different meanings,
or it could be one word that means two different things.

In Act 5, scene 3,
the Chief Watchman finds the bodies of the County , , and , and he calls for the Montagues and
Capulets to be brought, to hear the news of their children. He says,


We see the ground whereon these woes do lie,
But the true
ground of all these piteous woes
We cannot without circumstance descry.
(5.3.194-196)

The pun here has to do with the word
"ground" as it refers to both the earth on which the bodies lie, as well as the
foundation of all the problems that might have caused these deaths. The watchman speaks about
the ground on which the dead bodies now rest, but he also references the grounds of the discord
between the two families. Further, he says that more investigation will be needed in order to
totally understand the reasoning behind what has happened in the Capulets' burial
vault.

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