Out, thou scurvy wretch.
No, I'm joking.
Look, today we are looking at Shakespeare's
insults.
Who is this lesson for?
Well, if you're a competent English speaker
already, then this lesson could be quite enjoyable
for you because you can have some new insults
up your sleeve.
If you are an ESL speaker, then you're going
to learn some interesting uses of English.
Now, I just wanted to point out that 400 years
ago when Shakespeare died, so just a bit before
that when he was doing his plays, going to
the theatre was a very different experience.
Outside you'd probably see some bear-baiting;
there'd be all sorts of misbehaviour going
on inside and outside the theatre.
It's not quite the same as what going to the
theatre is like today, which can be quite
formal.
Right.
Let's start off.
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
That's the other thing I wanted to say to
you, that his plays are divided into three
categories.
So, we have tragedies where lots of people
get killed and die; we've got comedies which
are hopefully funny; and we have histories
which are typically about war, for example,
Henry V.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, this is a comedy.
Comedies all come together at the end; it's
a happy ending, but things go disastrously,
badly wrong before that.
Midsummer Night's Dream, this is about lovers
who the wrong person loves the wrong person,
and it's all a bit: "Oo, oo, oo", so the fairies
have to get involved and put magic potion.
"I am sick when I do look upon thee.
I am sick when I do look upon thee".
"Thee" just means "you".
Okay?
"I am sick when I look upon thee."
Nice and succinct.
With all of these insults, you'll find that
Shakespeare is a true wordsmith.
There is an enjoyment at the language, at
the sounds, at the words.
Everything just seems quite complete in these
insults.
"Villain, I have done thy mother."
Quite what he means by "done" I will leave
to your imagination, but something quite bad
has been done.
Judging by the play, Titus Andronicus, which
is all about rape, and murder, and bloodshed
- it's probably not a very pleasant thing.
"Thou art a boil, a plague sore" from King
Lear.
So, King Lear, it's about this old man who's
dividing his kingdom up between his three
sisters.
Sorry.
Between his three daughters.
"Thou art a boil, a plague sore".
"Art" here means "are"; "thou" means "you".
"You are a boil", you know, like a nasty thing
on your face.
"...a plague sore", so this was a time where
horrible diseases were going through the population.
"A plague sore", so a sore, like a nasty kind
of infected spot.
Lovely.
Really nice image, there.
Taming of the Shrew: "Away... away, you three-inch
fool".
So, here, we are giving the idea that the
person is short; in some department, at least.
Timon of Athens: "I'll beat thee, but I would
infect my hands."
So a slightly alternative use of the conditional
tense, here.
We would probably now say: "I would beat thee,
but".
"I'll beat thee.
I will beat you, but if I did that, I would
infect my hands; I'd get some disease."
So, you're... you're so disgusting that I'm
not even going to bother beating you up.
Again, from Timon of Athens: "Would thou wert
clean enough to spit on".
So, if you were clean enough, I would spit
on you, but you're so disgusting that my spit...
you're not even worth receiving my spit.
"Would thou", "Would you"; "wert", "if you
were... if you were clean enough to spit on".
"Would thou", "I wish you were clean enough
for me to spit on you."
Henry V, so some really fantastic speeches
in this play.
Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George.
If you want to learn some really sort of arousing
patriotic speeches, Henry V is the place to
go.
But this one more of an insult: "Thine face
is not worth sun burning".
So: "thine" meaning "your".
"Your face is not worth sun burning."
Okay?
It's not just me who thinks you're ugly; the
sun, the stars, the moon think you're ugly,
too.
Henry IV: "Thou art as fat as butter."
Butter... pure butter obviously being 100%
fat.
"Thou art as fat as butter", or close to it.
"Thou art as fat as butter."
We're also using a simile here, so we're comparing
his... the fatness of the other person to
butter.
From As You Like It: "I desire that we be
better strangers."
So, what we're expecting to be said here is:
I would love to get to know you better, but
what is actually said is: "I desire...
I want that we be... that...
I hope that we can be better strangers; that
I never really see you again".
"I desire that we be better strangers."
And, lastly, from Macbeth: "It is a tale told
by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing."
So, this would be an insult you would use
if someone's told this ridiculous story.
Maybe they've been exaggerating a little bit
too much, and you think it's just a bad story.
You would say: "It is a tale told by an idiot",
so the person telling the story - you're an
idiot.
Full of sound and anger, and loudness, but
it actually means nothing.
Your story's silly.
Okay, let's go over these one more time to
make sure we have got them exactly right.
So I'm going to say it, and then you repeat
after me.
"I am sick when I do look upon thee."
Obviously you're not being sick when you look
on me, are you?
Good.
"Villain, I have done thy mother".
"Thou art a boil, a plague sore".
"Away, you three-inch fool".
"I'll beat thee, but I would infect my hands".
Okay, keep repeating after me: "Would thou
wert clean enough to spit on".
"Thine face is not worth sun burning".
"Thou art as fat as butter".
"I desire that we be better strangers".
"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound
and fury, signifying nothing".
Now, if you want to learn how to tell a really
good story, then watch my video on how to
tell a great story.
Enjoy these words.
Use your whole mouth and expression to tell
them, and enjoy using them.
Until next time, press "Subscribe", and see
you in the next video.
Good-bye.
