Pun

Definition of word game
A word game is a word game that produces a humorous effect by using a word that suggests two or more meanings, or by exploiting words that sound similar and have different meanings. they arise mainly in homophones and homonyms. For example, in the sentence, "A happy life depends on a liver," the word liver can refer to the bodily organ, or simply a living person. Similarly, in the saying "Atheism is a non-prophet institution," the word "prophet" is used instead of "profit" to produce a humorous effect. Hypertension is always in the steak.
Why do we still have troops in Germany? Keep the Russians in Czech.
A horse is very stable
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
An elephant's opinion carries a lot of weight.
What is the difference between a conductor and a teacher? The conductor takes care of the train and a teacher trains the mind.
Examples of puns in literature
In literature, puns have been used by famous writers throughout history.

Example 1: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was a master at constructing puns. We find many examples of word games in his plays. Let's look at some of them:

“It's the most unkind thing there has ever been, man handcuffed. "(Richard III)

" Now the winter of our discontent ... through this York sun is a glorious summer. "(Richard III)

" Not me, believe me. You have dance shoes with agile soles; I have a soul of lead ”(Romeo and Juliet)

Claudio:“… But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son… ”Hamlet: [aside]“ A little more than relatives and less than kind ”. (Hamlet)

Example # 2: A hymn to God the Father (By John Donne)
John Donne's Hymn to God the Father has several examples of puns.

“When you have done, you have not done because I have more.
my death your son / will shine as it shines now, and until now
And having done that, you have done it;
I fear no more. ”

She's playing with his name Donne, and with his wife's name Anne More. Also, use Son, referring to the Christ, instead of the sun.

Example # 3: The Importance of Being Serious (by Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde uses puns in his play The Importance of Being Serious. Jack Earnest tells his aunt Augusta, in Act III:

"On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I have now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being serious."

Similarly, in Act 3 we see Jack playing with his last name again:

, my name was Ernest, right? Well, it's Ernest after all. I mean, of course, it's Ernest. “

Here Jack discovers his father's name, which makes him really serious.

Example 4: Great Expectations (by Charles Dickens)
Charles Dickens plays with words in his novel Great Expectations. In his opening chapter, Pip says:

"They seemed to believe that the opportunity would be missed if they didn't point the conversation at me every now and then and put the point in me."

Note the pun when using the word "period" . We see another interesting example in Chapter 2:

"Tickler was a piece of sugar cane with a wax end that was worn smooth by hitting my tickled frame."

The author writes the word "tickle" .

Example 5: Lolita (by Vladimir Nabokov)
We note a unique use of multilingual puns in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. For example, the name of the character Humbert is a play on words in two languages. It means “shadow” in French and “man” in Spanish. Similarly, Lolita changes her name to "Dolores" which means "pain" in Latin, and her nickname "Dolly" refers to a toy in English.

Function of Pun
Apart from the fact that word games are funny and humorous, they give texts a profound meaning and shape the way in which the text is interpreted by the readers. By playing with the words, the authors reveal their wisdom and the wisdom of their characters. Word games in a literary work serve as a source of comic book relief or as a deliberate effort on the part of the writer to demonstrate his or her creative language skills.

Proverb Quatrain