Part II
"More validity, more honorable state, more courtship lives in carrion flies"
Romeo, of himself, after killing Tybalt, Juliet's kinsman; Romeo and Juliet 3.3.33-35
(validity = value, courtship = the privelege of wooing)
"O monstrous arrogance!
Thou liest, thou thread, thou thimble,
Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail!
Thou flea, thou nit, thou winter-cricket thou!"
Petruchio to a tailor who has made a dress for Kate that Petruchio thinks unworthy of her; The Taming of the Shrew 4.3.106-109
"Thou common whore of mankind..."
Timon, ranting at Athens and the friends who have betrayed him; The Life of Timon of Athens 4.3.43
"If she be less than an honest woman, she is indeed more than I took her for."
Launcelot (a servant) to his master's friend Lorenzo, of Lorenzo's new wife, Jessica; The Merchant of Venice 3.5.37-38
(honest = chaste)
"She hath more hair than wit, and more faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults."
Speed to his fellow servance Launce, reading off a list of the vices of the woman Launce loves; The Two Gentlemen of Verona 3.1.314-342
"You were wont, when you laughed, to crow like a cock; when you walked, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you looked sadly, it was for want of money."
Speed to his master, Valentine, on his behavior before falling in love; The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1.3.24-28
"[Her complexion is] like my shoe, but her face nothing like so clean kept: for why? She sweats; a man may go over shoes in the grime of it."
Dromio of Syracuse, of Nell, his long-lost twin's betrothed; The Comedy of Errors 3.2.102-103
"Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and to conclude, they are lying knaves."
Dogberry, when Pedro asks him what his charges have done; Much Ado About Nothing 5.1.205-209
I love Dogberry....
And to finish things off, the best Shakespearean insult ever:
Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done?
Aaron: That which thou canst not undo.
Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother.
Aaron: Villain, I have done thy mother.
Aaron, indeed, has done their mother; Titus Andronicus 4.2.78-81
Romeo, of himself, after killing Tybalt, Juliet's kinsman; Romeo and Juliet 3.3.33-35
(validity = value, courtship = the privelege of wooing)
"O monstrous arrogance!
Thou liest, thou thread, thou thimble,
Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail!
Thou flea, thou nit, thou winter-cricket thou!"
Petruchio to a tailor who has made a dress for Kate that Petruchio thinks unworthy of her; The Taming of the Shrew 4.3.106-109
"Thou common whore of mankind..."
Timon, ranting at Athens and the friends who have betrayed him; The Life of Timon of Athens 4.3.43
"If she be less than an honest woman, she is indeed more than I took her for."
Launcelot (a servant) to his master's friend Lorenzo, of Lorenzo's new wife, Jessica; The Merchant of Venice 3.5.37-38
(honest = chaste)
"She hath more hair than wit, and more faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults."
Speed to his fellow servance Launce, reading off a list of the vices of the woman Launce loves; The Two Gentlemen of Verona 3.1.314-342
"You were wont, when you laughed, to crow like a cock; when you walked, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you looked sadly, it was for want of money."
Speed to his master, Valentine, on his behavior before falling in love; The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1.3.24-28
"[Her complexion is] like my shoe, but her face nothing like so clean kept: for why? She sweats; a man may go over shoes in the grime of it."
Dromio of Syracuse, of Nell, his long-lost twin's betrothed; The Comedy of Errors 3.2.102-103
"Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and to conclude, they are lying knaves."
Dogberry, when Pedro asks him what his charges have done; Much Ado About Nothing 5.1.205-209
I love Dogberry....
And to finish things off, the best Shakespearean insult ever:
Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done?
Aaron: That which thou canst not undo.
Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother.
Aaron: Villain, I have done thy mother.
Aaron, indeed, has done their mother; Titus Andronicus 4.2.78-81