No style of wordplay is as ancient, or as marginalized as the pun. There is scarcely a wordsmith (playwright, poet, pundit) in any literary canon (Particularly English, Mandarin, French, Hebrew, and Sanskrit) who has not dazzled their audience with punish script in some capacity. Unfortunately, as a result of efforts for "politeness", political correctness, and polemics, the English pun has over the centuries, been relegated to the ghettos and grottoes of humor and language.
Why should we allow these poles to block the way for one of the greatest lexical tools in English? We shouldn't. The pun, in its various incarnations, is more than just silly humor. It is a tool for building language, pondering the ambiguity of meaning and the search for truth, and a subtle coloring for satire & protest.
John Pollack explains in The Pun Also Rises, that the pun is an essential part of English and deserves a write-ful place in our linguistic practice and culture. This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand the punny nature of English, and the taxonomical basics of the Pun Kingdom. What a punderful world we live in!
There is some uncertainty among scholars of puns, word play, and etymological history as to the exact origins of the pun. Some believe that it has been with humanity since the beginnings of language, and served as a tool for developing social groups in early Homo sapiens communities. Others believe it came much later, as language developed more complexity, homonyms, and homophones.
In English, it has been postulated that the word pun shares a common ancestor with pundit as a loan word from Sanskrit, meaning roughly to bundle together, or layer as with meaning. Etymological scholars date the transference of these terms to English to around 1640, as the result of sailors and traders traveling hither and thither with India and the Spice Trade.
Until its use in the works of troubadours, court jesters, and comic playwrights, the pun served as a primarily philosophical and rhetorical device, used to emphasize, befuddle or clarify an idea or concept. Poets such as Catullus would utilize the pun to mock or defame personal enemies or characters. The pun is also prevalent in many of the theological traditions and literature of the world, making a cozy home in the verses of Hindu Scripture and the Hebrew Bible.
Until the rise of the Enlightenment in Europe, puns were an integral part of theological teachings and preachings from the pulpits of churches and the seminars of seminaries. They became essential for citizens of kingdoms and monarchies that practiced staunch censorship, as they allowed for subtle, defense-able dissent. For playwrights and bards, puns served to enhance the entertainment provided for the masses. The works of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Jonson are rife with puns-much to the chagrin of persons against puns.
As a result of struggles for class stratification, the development of modern etiquette, and the rejection of all things ambiguous by many Enlightenment Scholars, the pun began to decline as an art form. By the 20th century, the pun was still used in writing, for schoolchildren, and for newspaper headlines.
The pun is still important today and should be revisited as an art form, not just for humor but also for theological and philosophical purposes. To borrow from a well-known pundit: "Let's Make America Pun Again!"
Today, many people simply groan at puns. Others, such as those who compete in the O. Henry National Punning Contest appreciate the wit and complexity of the pun. For a further understanding of the history and importance of the pun, please see John Pollack's The Pun Also Rises.
