One of the most recognizable elements that is in Shakespearean plays is the pun.

Beyond just the pun however, the use of sexual puns, or bawdy language has been a particular calling card of Shakespeare's wit and humor. According to Samuel Coleridge, a Shakespearean play contained an average of 78 puns, and over the life of his career Shakespeare had managed to work in no less than 3000 puns into his plays; that said, apparently the works of Shakespeare contain more than 700 puns on sex and more than 400 on genitals. Shakespeare's use of bawdy sexually suggestive, crude, or humorously indecent languagebecame an area of serious critical interest in the 20th century, with critics on both sides arguing about the value or lack thereof that bawdy actually contributed to the quality of the works. While many viewed that the bawdy in Shakespearean works was a shallow appeal to the humor of the proles, many critics have explored the opposing view: that bawdy was rather essential to a complete enjoyment and understanding of a Shakespearean play. Indeed, a close-reading of one of Shakespeare's most pun-filled works, Romeo and Juliet, will prove that not only does the significance of bawdy extend beyond a comic-level, but that it also serves as a vehicle for serious issues. The best way to break down the play for the purpose of identifying the significance of bawdy is to break it down by character interaction. In this case, the pairings would be quite obviously Romeo and Juliet, Gregory, Peter and Sampson, Mercutio, Benvolio and Romeo, and then finally the Nurse and her interactions with various characters.