There are a zillion puns in this scene, most of them dirty double entendres.
Mercutio: Sure wit, follow me this jest now till thou hast worn out thy pump, that, when the single sole of it is worn, the jest may remain, after the wearing, solely singular.
A double pun, this one. The one meaning is that the sole of the shoe, the pump they are talking about, is single, which is to say, it has only one layer of leather. But he puns the sole of the shoe with "solely" (meaning only, exclusively) and puns the word single with "singular" (meaning one of a kind, unique) and says that his joke is exclusively unique, or solely singular.
Mercutio: Thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair.
Well, basically he's saying on the surface that Benvolio wants him to stop when he's just getting going. "Against the hair" means against the grain (If you've ever tried to rub a dog's or a horse's hair the wrong way you'll know what this means) and implies that now he's rolling and to stop would be to go backwards against the grain. But of course "tale" is punned with "tail" which suggests a certain part of the male anatomy which might be "stopped". Just to show that this is what they really mean, Benvolio replies "Thou wouldst else have made thy tale large." . . . you get the picture.
Mercutio: A bawd! A bawd! A bawd! So ho!
Romeo: What hast thou found?
Mercutio: No hare, sir, unless, sir, a hare in a lenten pie, that is something stale and hoar ere it be spent.
This needs some explaining. Mercutio has called the Nurse a bawd, that is a prostitute, and has shouted out So ho! which was the call when hunters had spotted game. Romeo asks what he has spotted, and Mercutio says it's not a hare. He then talks about a "hare in a lenten pie". What he's talking about on the face of it is a pie made with rabbit meat for Lent. These pies were eaten very slowly and so became stale and moldy ("hoar" means "white") before it was totally eaten ("ere it be spent")
But "hare" and "stale" were both slang words for "prostitute" and "hoar" is a pun for "whore". All of these words with double meanings make his comment sound like the statement that a prostitute becomes stale and white before she is spent--with an obvious and rude reference to the Nurse, who he has just called a bawd. "Scurvy knave!" was probably too nice a thing for the Nurse to say to him!
Act 1 Scene 4 Line 14-15
Romeo says that the flies are better off than he is because they can land on Juliet and he is not even allowed to see her. "Flies may do this but I from this must fly" he says. The pun is of course on the word fly.
examples of conceit in figurative devics
Pun: A Pun is a play on words with more than one meaning, interpretation. "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance. Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles…" (I.iv.13-15).
"The bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon." Mercutio is ostensibly talking about the clock, with hands and a mark (prick) to show where 12 o'clock is. But he is making a pun about a hand being on a prick (penis), which he says is "bawdy"
Act 1 Scene 4 Line 14-15
Romeo says that the flies are better off than he is because they can land on Juliet and he is not even allowed to see her. "Flies may do this but I from this must fly" he says. The pun is of course on the word fly.
Sure, here are five puns from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": In Act 1, Scene 1, Sampson says, "I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it." This is a pun on the gesture of biting one's thumb, which was considered an insult at the time. In Act 2, Scene 4, Mercutio says, "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance." This is a pun on the word "dance," which could mean both to physically dance and to engage in a duel. In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio says, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man." This is a pun on the word "grave," which could mean both serious and buried in a grave. In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio says, "A plague o' both your houses!" This is a pun on the word "plague," which could refer to both a curse and a literal plague. In Act 3, Scene 5, Juliet says, "Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb." This is a pun on the word "low," which could mean both physically low and emotionally down.
examples of conceit in figurative devics
Pun: A Pun is a play on words with more than one meaning, interpretation. "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance. Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles…" (I.iv.13-15).
Mercutio yells "a sail" in Act III, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet because he has been fatally wounded by Tybalt in a fight and is warning Romeo that he is doomed to die. The phrase can also be interpreted as a pun on the word "assail," indicating the impending violence.
"The bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon." Mercutio is ostensibly talking about the clock, with hands and a mark (prick) to show where 12 o'clock is. But he is making a pun about a hand being on a prick (penis), which he says is "bawdy"
One example of a pun in Romeo and Juliet is in Act 1, Scene 1, when Sampson says, "I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it." The pun here is on the word "bite," which can mean both to physically bite and to insult or provoke. Another example is in Act 2, Scene 4, when Mercutio says, "Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy," using "pink" to mean the peak or epitome, but also referencing the color pink. Puns are a common literary device in Shakespeare's works, adding humor and depth to the dialogue.
1. First metaphor is when Romeo compares his personality to their palms. He alsocompares his lips to pilgrims (suggesting piety and humility and a state of grace) (Act I Scene V)"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready standTo smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss".2. Romeo compares Juliet to the sun (Act II Scene II)"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."3. Romeo compares Juliet's eyes to the bright stars (Act II scene II)"Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,Having some business, do entreat her eyesTo twinkle in their spheres till they return.What if her eyes were there, they in her head?The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven"4. Romeo uses the word "sole" when he refers to Mercutio's shoes, then made a pun by referring to his own "soul." [ How is this a metaphor?]5. Romeo compares Juliet's eyes to silent prayers. " Her eyes are homes of silent prayer." (in which act and scene???)6. Capulet compares his banquet guests to the stars (Act I scene II)"At my poor house look to behold this nightEarth-treading stars that make dark heaven light"7. Juliet compares the night to a mask (Act II scene II)Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek8. Friar Lawrence describes Earth to the mother of nature (plants and people) (Act II Scene III)The earth that's nature's mother is her tomb;What is her burying grave that is her womb,And from her womb children of divers kindWe sucking on her natural bosom find,Many for many virtues excellent,None but for some and yet all different.
An example of a pun is Sampson saying to Gregory that he was going to cut off the heads of the maidens. While this sounds like he was going to cut off their heads he puns on "taking their maidenheads" which means he will take their virginity.
The pun: "Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down" (1.4.28). In Mercutio's view, Romeo's love-sickness is caused by a lack of sex; if he's just have some, he'd get over thinking that he needs to be in love.
Mercutio is witty, light-hearted, a bit of a trickster, and even as he lays dying makes one final pun..."...you will find me a grave man..."Romeo is depressed, introspective, and very serious about life. Mercutio serves to show how thoughtful Romeo is.The nurse is blunt, a mother to Juliet and concerned only with the happiness and safety of the girl. By her motherly love for Juliet, we are made more aware of Romeo's passionate love for her.Mercutio is witty, light-hearted, a bit of a trickster, and even as he lays dying makes one final pun..."...you will find me a grave man..." Romeo is depressed, introspective, and very serious about life. Mercutio serves to show how thoughtful Romeo is.The nurse is blunt, a mother to Juliet and concerned only with the happiness and safety of the girl. By her motherly love for Juliet, we are made more aware of Romeo's passionate love for her.