Are we losing the art of the insult?

“Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes,” may sound a bit dramatic to modern ears, yet in the years of the English Renaissance, if thy face displeased another, they did not lack for creative ways to tell thee.

The line, from William Shakespeare’s Richard III, is one example of the elaborate insults found throughout the English Renaissance.

As the English language evolves, so does the art of the insult. With Oct. 8 being National Insult Day, it’s worth asking: Are we losing the art of the insult?

From carefully crafted jabs to quick one-liners and social media clapbacks, there are many ways to insult each other and new avenues to deliver them today.

“I think our language is constantly changing. Personally, I would say the art of insult is still significant, but just the contexts and the word hoard we use has changed,” said English professor James Sutton, who frequently teaches Shakespeare.

A good insult is often clever, creative, witty, unexpected and, a lot of times, subtle.

“If you go back historically and study insults, they’re often associated with highly educated, highly verbal people who know how to communicate well,” said Shawn Christian, chairman of the Department of English.

The Dozens, for example, is a traditional African American game of verbal back-and-forth in which participants trade vicious, humorous retorts and carefully crafted insults in front of an audience.

English and linguistics professor Phillip Carter describes how insults have evolved, from The Dozens, with “really sophisticated innuendo, multiple entendres,” to modern-day insults that are “direct, bold, in-your-face, without consequence or without concern.”

Christian said other types of sophisticated comebacks can be seen in modern hip-hop battles, where insults rely on wordplay, timing and an audience that understands the references.

“This whole Drake, Kendrick Lamar, back and forth, I think is a great example,” Christian said.

“It really matters where the insult is being delivered, who’s around, who’s a part of the context. Because that creates a kind of common knowledge about the kind of joke or the way the insult is supposed to be received,” Christian said.

With the rise of social media, people gained the ability to insult others with the tap of a few buttons.

Carter said the art of the insult may be losing some of its craftsmanship as social media makes it easier for people to deliver simple and direct insults.

“So much of our life has moved from in-person language behavior to online language behavior. And that changes what we say and how we say it,” Carter said.

Sutton points out even a clever Shakespearean insult can fall flat if the audience doesn’t understand it. He said he wouldn’t use a Shakespearean insult on his neighbor or anyone else who couldn’t find meaning in it.

Christian said the art is evolving, requiring people to understand the lingo and context of social media to recognize the insult.

“The insult is just mutating,” he said. “We talk about the art of the insult as verbal play, but it’s also about acute listening.”