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All Site ContentRomeo and JulietAct 1Scene 3
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"honor"
Wordplay
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 67-70

An explanation of the pun on “honor” in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Lady Capulet

How stands your disposition to be married?

Juliet

It is an honor that I dream not of.

Nurse

An honor! Were not I thine only nurse,
I would say thou hadst sucked wisdom from thy teat.   
  • Juliet dreams not of the privilege and pleasure of being married.
  • But the Nurse puns on the sound of the words. After all, "honour" sounds a lot like "on her," which conjures the image of a man lying on a woman