| Acknowledgements | 第1-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第9-15页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第15-19页 |
| ·Background of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第16-17页 |
| ·Overall Structure of the Study | 第17-19页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第19-40页 |
| ·A Brief Introduction to Figure-Ground Theory | 第19-27页 |
| ·The Origin and Working Definition of Figure and Ground | 第19-21页 |
| ·Characteristics of Figure and Ground | 第21-22页 |
| ·Principle of Pragnanz | 第22-23页 |
| ·Principle of Prominence | 第23-25页 |
| ·Cognitive Reference Point Model | 第25-27页 |
| ·A Survey of the Study on Puns | 第27-36页 |
| ·Working Definition of Puns | 第27-29页 |
| ·Classification of Puns | 第29-30页 |
| ·Previous Approaches to the Studies of Puns | 第30-36页 |
| ·A Brief Introduction to Romeo and Juliet | 第36-40页 |
| Chapter 3 Methodology | 第40-43页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第40页 |
| ·Data Collection | 第40-41页 |
| ·The Selection of Puns at Phonetic Level | 第41页 |
| ·The Selection of Puns at Semantic Level | 第41页 |
| ·Data Presentation | 第41-43页 |
| Chapter 4 Interpretation of the Puns in Romeo and Juliet Based onFigure-Ground Theory | 第43-64页 |
| ·Explanation of the Prominent Features of the Figure from the Principleof Prominence | 第43-54页 |
| ·Prominent Features of the Figure at the Phonetic Level | 第43-48页 |
| ·Prominent Features of the Figure at the Semantic Level | 第48-54页 |
| ·Interpretation of the Figure and Ground of the Puns from the Perspectiveof Cognitive Reference Point Model | 第54-58页 |
| ·Interpretation of the Figure and Ground in Explicit Context ofthe Puns | 第54-56页 |
| ·Interpretation of the Figure and Ground in Implicit Context ofthe Puns | 第56-58页 |
| ·Functions of the Puns Used in Romeo and Juliet Based on Figure-GroundTheory | 第58-63页 |
| ·The Prominent Functions of the Figure | 第58-60页 |
| ·The Subsidiary Functions of the Ground | 第60-63页 |
| ·Summary | 第63-64页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第64-67页 |
| ·Major Findings of the Study | 第64-65页 |
| ·Limitations of the Study | 第65-66页 |
| ·Suggestions for Future Study | 第66-67页 |
| References | 第67-69页 |
