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What is word play?
What is wordplay in literature?
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Wordplay (or word play, and also called play-on-words) is the clever and witty use of words and meaning. It involves using literary devices and techniques like consonance, assonance, spelling, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, acronym, pun, and slang (to name a few) to form amusing and often humorous written and oral expressions.
- Acronym. Acronyms are words formed by the first letter or letters of a term. Acronyms are an important part of slang or “internet speak”—BAE, FOMO, YOLO, and even GIF.
- Acrostic. An acrostic is a composition where specific letters form a new word or words. You’ll find acrostics in some crossword puzzles, where certain letters are circled to form a clue to the puzzle.
- Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound in words that are in close proximity to each other. Example: “And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind, / Which, when it bites and blows upon my body.”
- Anagram. Anagrams take the letters from a specific word or phrase and scramble them to create something new. Example: dormitory→dirty room. Tom Marvolo Riddle→I am Lord Voldemort.
Word play is a literary device, used as a form of wit. In this device, words are used in such a way that they become the main subject of conversation for entertainment and amusement. There are different types of wordplays. It is also called play upon words or play-on-words.
- Word Play Examples: Anthimeria. Anthimeria is a type of word play in which a word is employed using a different part of speech than what is typically associated with that word.
- Word Play Examples: Double Entendre. A double entendre is a form of word play in which a word or phrase is used ambiguously, meaning the reader can interpret it in multiple ways.
- Word Play Examples: Kenning. The kenning is a type of metaphor that was popular among medieval poets. It is a phrase, usually two nouns, that describes something figuratively, often using words only somewhat related to the object being described.
- Word Play Examples: Malapropism. A malapropism is a device primarily used in dialogue. It is employed when the correct word in a sentence is replaced with a similar-sounding word or phrase that has an entirely different meaning.
Wordplay is a literary device that involves the clever and thoughtful manipulation of language to create amusement, emphasize certain points, or express complex ideas in an engaging and memorable way. It’s a form of wit that plays on the meanings and ambiguities of words, often leading to humorous or rhetorical effects.
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement.
Nov 4, 2019 · Word play is verbal wit: the manipulation of language (in particular, the sounds and meanings of words) with the intent to amuse. Also known as logology and verbal play .
