Lit - Shakespeare - Insulting Dialogue

This was given to me by another teacher. The idea is to get the kids excited about Elizabethan language.

Your assignment is to create a dialogue in a Google Document, saved to your class folder, and shared with those also working on the document. Title the document B.2

 
Now, create a dialogue between the people in your group. Your goal is to insult the dewberries out of each other using Elizabethan English. 
  • You MUST use multiple adjectives to describe one noun in your sentences. 
  • You MUST use some of the other techniques, as well. 
  • Each person should have five lines in your scene. (That means five sentences). If you're working alone, you write ten lines. 
  • NO REPEATING INSULTS
  • Put all of your names on the top of the assignment
In order to use this insult generator choose two adjectives and one noun and combine them using "Thou art a(n)..." 

Student 1 - Thou art a churlish, dismal-dreaming fustilarian.

(Make a longer, more interesting insult by choosing more adjectives from columns one and two and combine them, then add some other techniques.)

Student 2 - God's teeth, thou art an artless, crook-pated, fawning, mewling, elf-skinned puttock. Fie upon thee!  Tis thou who maketh me ill.
 

Adjectives

Artless Base-court
Bawdy Bat-fowling
Beslubbering Beef-witted
Bootless Beetle-headed
Churlish Boil-brained
Cockered Clapper-clawed
Clouted Clay-brained
Craven Common-kissing
Currish Crook-pated
Dankish Dismal-dreaming
Dissembling Dizzy-eyed
Droning Dog-hearted
Errant Dread-bolted
Fawning Earth-vexing
Fobbing Elf-skinned
Froward Fat-kidneyed
Frothy Fen-sucked
Gleeking Flap-mouthed
Goatish Fly-bitten
Gorbellied Folly-fallen
Impertinent Fool-born
Infectious Full-gorged
Jarring Guts-griping
Loggerheaded Half-faced
Lumpish Hasty-witted
Mammering Hedge-born
Mangled Hell-hated
Mewling Idle-headed
Paunchy Ill-breeding
Pribbling Ill-nurtured
Puking Knotty-pated
Puny Milk-livered
Quailing Motley-minded
Rank Onion-eyed
Reeky Plume-plucked
Roguish Pottle-deep
Ruttish Pox-marked
Saucy Reeling-ripe
Spleeny Rough-hewn
Spongy Rude-growing
Surly Rump-fed
Tottering Shard-borne
Unmuzzled Sheep-biting
Vain Spur-galled
Venomed Swag-bellied
Villainous Tardy-gaited
Warped Tickle-brained
Wayward Toad-spotted
Weedy Unchin-snouted
Yeasty Weather-bitten

Nouns

 

Apple-john
Baggage
Barnacle
Bladder
Boar-pig
Bugbear
Bum-bailey
Canker-blossom
Clack-dish
Clot-pole
Coxcomb
Codpiece
Death-token
Dewberry
Flap-dragon
Flax-wench
Flirt-gill
Foot-licker
Fustilarian
Giglet
Gudgeon
Haggard
Harpy
Hedge-pig
Horn-beast
Huggermugger
Jolt-head
Lewdster
Lout
Maggot-pie
Malt-worm
Mammet
Measle
Minnow
Miscreant
Mold-warp
Mumble-news
Nut-hook
Pigeon-egg
Pignut
Puttock
Pumpion
Rats-bane
Scut
Skains-mate
Strumpet
Varlot
Vassal
Whey-face
Wagtail

Other Techniques

 
 Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
 
Don’t waste time saying “it,” just use the letter “t” (’tis, t’will, I’ll do’t).
 
When in doubt, add the letters “eth” to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
 
To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore
 
You are = Thou art
 
you = thee (Get thee to a nunnery!)
 
your = thine
 
 
Often, to lend credence to your words, or indicate the voracity of your words one might swear by any number of things:
    • One might swear by God's name, but more often than not they would swear by


      • "God's Teeth" - "God's teeth, 'tis cold outside."
      • God's Wounds as "Zounds" (pronounced: zoonds) - "Zounds, I ne'er thought she wouldst do that!"
      • "God's Blood"

    • Some men might swear by mythological and classical beings (possibly to sound more educated?)


      • "by the Might of Mars!"
      • "the Beauty of Venus!"

    • Men swore by numerous other things:


      • "...by my beard."
      • By the saints
      • By tools of their trade:

        • "By my hammer and tongs" in the case of a blacksmith
        • "By my sword..." as a knight

    • A woman wouldn't be so crass as to swear by false deities, etc… She would choose more polite phrasings:


    • "On my honor/chastity/virtue..."
    • A woman might also swear by the saints.
    • Swear by the tools of her trade: spinning wheel, thread and needles, etc.

Some words of exclamation that might be considered Elizabethan expletives:

"Fie!" is used a general exclamation of disgust.

An example of Shakespeare's use of the word:

Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes,

Some common phrases using "Fie!"

"Oh, Fie!" 
"Fie and fie again!"
"Fie upon it!" or "Fie upon that!" or "Fie upon you!"

"Tush!" is a more mild exclamation than "fie". The word is used alone in a sentence (for instance you would not say "Tush upon you!" It sounds silly). It's hard to equate this to a term in the modern lexicon as it is similar to some, yet synonymous with none.

An example of the word's use in a sentence:

Oh tush, sir… you gave me a fright you did…

"Go to!" is an exclamation akin to our modern "Get outta here!" and/or "Really?" It is also used to tell a person to take their leave.

An example of the use of "Go to!" in a sentence:

Go to, you're a dry fool; I'll no more of you:
besides, you grow dishonest.