ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much.
MERCUTIO: No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 1. After being stabbed by Tybalt in his fight with him, Mercutio uses similes to downplay the seriousness of his wound to Romeo. Ever the lover of wit and wordplay even when dying, Mercutio uses a joke and pun to say that he will be a "grave man" tomorrow. He is playing on the double meaning of "grave," which can mean serious or a man in his grave. Mercutio’s dark pun is filled with bitter and tragic irony. It is foreshadowing not only his own death but also that of his best friend Romeo, senseless casualties of the bitter fuel between the warring Montagues and Capulets.