The article touches upon several aspects of precedent phenomena functioning in the literary discourse. The peculiarities of using precedent phenomena in the ludic function are explained not only in terms of mundane communication which is reflected in the literary discourse but also with regard to the inner mechanisms of a literary work. The article discusses several specificities of how precedent phenomena are used in order to create a word play. The author also puts forward a suggestion that the ludic function of a precedent phenomenon may determine its form.