Figure of Speech
Pun
Also called paronomasia. Shakespeare is the greatest English punster; his puns operate simultaneously as comedy, wordplay, and thematic statement.
Definition
A play on words exploiting different meanings of a word, or the similar sounds of different words, for comic or serious effect.
Example
Shakespeare: 'Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York.' — 'son/sun'.