Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. Puns, phonetic mixups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling character names are common examples of word play.

All writers engage in word play to some extent, but certain writers are particularly adept or committed to word play. Shakespeare was a noted punster. James Joyce--whose Ulysses, and even more so, his Finnegans Wake, are filled with brilliant writing and brilliant word play--is another noted word-player. For example, Joyce's phrase "they were yung and easily freudened" clearly conveys the meaning "young and easily frightened", but it also makes puns on the names of two famous psychoanalysts, Jung and Freud.

Other writers closely identified with word play include:

• Lewis Carroll in his Alice books
• Willard R. Espy, who collected several anthologies of word play
• Vladimir Nabokov
• George Bernard Shaw. The well-known spelling of fish as ghoti comes from Shaw: " gh as in tough, o as in women, ti as in station".
• Van Dyke Parks
• Thomas Pynchon

More on [ Word play ]

Wiley: All New Reference Titles

70-643: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration, Package
Microsoft Official Academic Course Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  Exam 70-643, Windows Server 2008 Applications Platform Configuration.    The newest iteration of the Microsoft Official Academic Course (MOAC) program for network administration courses using Windows Server 2008 and mapping to the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) 70-643 certification exam. The MOAC IT Professional series is the Official from Microsoft, turn-key Workforce training program that leads to professional certification Read More...
CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide, 4th Edition
James Michael Stewart, Ed Tittel, Mike Chapple Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  Building on the popular Sybex Study Guide approach, this book provides 100% coverage of the CISSP Body of Knowledge exam objectives. You'll find: Read More...
MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration: Exam 70-642
William Panek, Tylor Wentworth Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  Get ready for the new Windows Server 2008 certification track. With Microsoft's release of Windows Server 2008 and a new generation of certification exams, network administrators have more reason than ever to certify their expertise in the world's leading server software. Inside, find the full coverage you need to prepare for Exam 70-642: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring, Read More...
Shakespeare on the Double! A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare, Mary Ellen Snodgrass Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  "The course of true love never did run smooth." Read More...
Shakespeare on the Double! Twelfth Night
William Shakespeare, Mary Ellen Snodgrass Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  "O Time, thou must untangle this, not I! Read More...
Shakespeare on the Double! The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare, Mary Ellen Snodgrass Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
  "I am ashamed that women are so simpleTo offer war where they should kneel for peace, Or seek for rule, supremancy, and sway Read More...

Subscribe to Reference RSS feed