Quote:
Originally Posted by low
Says the guy that can't type out a simple post on this forum without using name puns and double entendre
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I can't wait to hear your deep and profound objections to my use of same. I'm fairly certain that both are signs of mental agility far above your emoji-based taunting, which in this case is flat-out rude.
In fact, I cheated (as I'm busy drinking) and asked Google Gemini for a few classical examples:
Quote:
1. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (Classical Greek Tragedy)
The name of the tragic hero is a profound and painful pun that underscores the central themes of the play: knowledge and his physical deformity.
Name Pun: Oedipus (Oἰδ
ι
ˊ
πους Oidípous).
Literal Meaning: "Swollen Foot." This is a direct reference to the physical injury he received as an infant when his ankles were pinned together and he was exposed on the mountainside.
Thematic Pun: The Greek verb οἶδα (oida) means "I know" or "I see," and δ
ι
ˊ
πους (dípous) means "two-footed."
Sophocles plays on the sound of the name, suggesting "I know" and "two-footed" (the answer to the Sphinx's riddle). This connects the hero's name to the central themes of seeing the truth and human knowledge/ignorance.
2. Homer's The Odyssey (Classical Greek Epic)
This is one of the most famous name puns in all of literature, used by Odysseus himself to survive a perilous encounter.
Name Pun: Outis (Οὔτις).
Double Meaning: The name he gives to the Cyclops, Polyphemus, is a pun on the Greek phrase "No one" or "Nobody."
Thematic Purpose: After Odysseus blinds the Cyclops, Polyphemus cries out for help, shouting, "Nobody is killing me by force!" The other Cyclopes, hearing this, naturally assume that no one is harming him and refuse to intervene, allowing Odysseus and his men to escape.
3. Shakespeare's Richard III
A pun based on a political lineage and a historical figure.
Name Pun: Sun of York and Son of York.
Line: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York."
Double Meaning: The first meaning refers to the heraldic badge of the House of York, which was a sun. The second, more crucial meaning is a pun on "son," referring to the current King Edward IV, the son of the Duke of York, whose reign brought a "glorious summer" (an end to war).
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Read them and weep, sir.