Skip to main content

What are three subjects Mercutio and Romeo make puns about in Scene 4, lines 44-70?

Romeo says that love "pricks like thorn"; in other words, he feels injured by love.  Mercutio, however, tells him to "be rough with love / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down."  Prickmeans to poke, and this is the way Romeo uses the word, but Mercutio's response relies on the other meaning of prick, creating the pun.  A prick is also a slang term for a penis.  Therefore, Mercutio's pun implies that...

Romeo says that love "pricks like thorn"; in other words, he feels injured by love.  Mercutio, however, tells him to "be rough with love / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down."  Prick means to poke, and this is the way Romeo uses the word, but Mercutio's response relies on the other meaning of prick, creating the pun.  A prick is also a slang term for a penis.  Therefore, Mercutio's pun implies that Romeo should have his way with love rather than allow it to hurt him.


While Romeo's friends are attempting to goad him into going to the Capulets' party, Romeo says that he is done.  Mercutio responds, "Tut, dun’s the mouse, the constable’s own word. / If thou art dun, we’ll draw thee from the mire [...]."  The pun is on the word dun.  First, Romeo says that he is done, meaning finished, and then Mercutio uses a popular expression that essentially means "Be still," and then says that if Romeo is dun/done, then they will pull him like a stick from the mud and get him to go to the party.


Then, Romeo says that "[He] dreamt a dream tonight," and Mercutio responds that he did too.  Romeo asks him what it was, and Mercutio says that "dreamers often lie" (1.4.56).  Romeo replies back, "In bed asleep while they do dream things true" (1.4.57).  Here, the pun is on the word lie.  Mercutio means to suggest that someone might be dishonest, but Romeo changes it to the other meaning, as in to recline or lie down. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Martel's Life of Pi, how does writing a diary help Pi Patel build on his leadership skills?

At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can... At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can do this by writing down events, problems and solutions, and reflections to look back on when confronted with repeated problems. It can ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Follow the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker. They endure over two hundred days of hardship together, but in the end Richard Parker leaves...

When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that... When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that he also needs Pi to survive.  At one point in the book, Pi's starvation and thirst reduce him to a st...
Post a Comment
Read more