Much of the humor of Don Juan is due to the varied employment of many forms of verbal wit: puns, plays upon words, and odd repetitions and turns of expression. The puns are not always commendable for their brilliance, though they serve often to burlesque a serious subject. In at least one stanza Byron uses a foreign language in punning.[348] In general it is noticeable that puns become more common in the later cantos of the poem.[349] There are also many curious turns of expression, comparable only to some of the quips of Hood and Praed.[350] Frequently, they are exceedingly clever in the suddenness with which they shift the thought and give the reader an unexpected surprise, e.g.:
“Lambo presented, and one instant more
Had stopped this canto and Don Juan’s breath.”[351]
Repetitions of words or sounds often convey the effect of a pun, e.g.:
“They either missed, or they were never missed,
And added greatly to the missing list.”[352]
The witty line,
“But Tom’s no more—and so no more of Tom,”[353]
is an excellent example of Byron’s verbal artistry.
It should be added here, also, that Byron displayed a singular capacity for coining maxims and compressing much worldly wisdom into a compact form. Some of his sayings have so far passed into common speech that they are almost platitudes, e.g.: