Shakespearean Insults, Part 1

The next time someone annoys you, channel your inner Shakespeare and throw one of these epic insults their way.

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“Villain, I have done thy mother.”
— William Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus)

William Shakespeare possessed an extraordinary gift for language, crafting insults that remain some of the most cutting and clever ever penned.

Whether ridiculing fools, chastising cowards, or mocking arrogance, his barbs were both ruthlessly incisive and elegantly poetic, and some of them are worthy of revisiting.

There are five categories to explore in this issue. Given the news this week, it seems fitting we start with this category:

I. Liars and Traitors

Shakespeare knew there was a class of people — often a higher class — who were dishonest and faithless. And he made sure his audiences knew too.

“A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.” — All’s Well That Ends Well

“You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!” — Julius Caesar

“Thou liest, thou thread of untwisted filaments!” — Henry IV, Part 1

“Thou subtle, perjured, false, disloyal man!” — Much Ado About Nothing

“You are not worth another word, else I’d call you knave.” — All’s Well That Ends Well

II. Get Out of My Sight

Let’s face it: when you’ve had enough of someone, sometimes you just don’t want them around any more. And Shakespeare’s characters were not shy at telling people where to go.

“Away, you three-inch fool!” — The Taming of the Shrew

“Away, you starvelling, you elf-skin, you dried neat’s-tongue, bull’s-pizzle, you stock-fish!” — Henry IV Part 1

“Aroint thee: go away, rump-fed runion: slut” — Macbeth

“Away thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant.” — The Taming of the Shrew

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