Literary device of the day : Pun
A pun is a play on words that produces a humorous effect by using a word that suggests two or more meanings, or by exploiting similar sounding words that have different meanings.
Humorous effects created by puns depend upon the ambiguities the words entail. These ambiguities arise mostly in homophones and homonyms. For instance, in the sentence, “A happy life depends on a liver,” the word liver can refer to the bodily organ, or simply a person who lives. Similarly, in the saying “Atheism is a non-prophet institution,” the word “prophet” is used instead of “profit” to produce a humorous effect.
In everyday life, pun examples are found intentionally or accidentally, used in jokes and witty remarks.
A horse is a very stable animal
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 minds the trainand a teacher trains the mind.
Apart from being witty and humorous, puns add profound meanings to texts, and shape the way in which the text is interpreted by the readers. By playing with the words, the writers reveal their cleverness and the cleverness of their characters. Besides, puns also act as a source of comic relief.
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