Comedy of Humours
Comedy of humours is a comedic genre in English literature which originated during the 16th century. It is based on the ancient Greek medical doctor Hippocrates’ theory that human behaviour and personality are affected by four bodily fluids: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm located in various organs such as the liver, heart and brain.
Characters in comedies of humours were portrayed based on how much of each fluid they were thought to have; thus giving them a certain “humour” or disposition which allowed writers to provide commentary about different types of human behaviour.
Comedy of Humours Example
An example of comedy of humours based on the description provided would be to create a character who is melancholic, meaning they are prone to sadness and pessimism. The melancholic character may interact with a sanguine (optimistic and cheerful) character in order to show how these two seemingly different types of personalities can clash.
The witty dialogue between them could be used by the writer to make a commentary about the nature of human behaviour and its effect on interpersonal relationships.
Writers of Comedy of Humours
The important writers of this form are Ben Jonson Chapman, Middleton, Massinger and Shadwell. Ben Jonson is the father of comedy of humours.
Comedy of Humours in Ben Jonson’s Volpone and Everyman in His Humour
In Ben Jonson’s Volpone, Jonson presents humour through eccentric and exaggerated characters who live in an urban setting. This means that the characters are over-the-top in nature which allows for more comedic moments as the audience can identify with these characters due to their “everyday” problems.
Each character exhibits their own unique mood or ‘humour’ which drives the comic action in the play. These humours present a range of personalities from avarice (Volpone), naivety (Sir politic would-be), bitterness (Corbaccio), excessive ambition (Voltore) and servility (Mosca). The mix between these humours creates an interesting dynamic when Volpone is trying to outwit his opponents with his trickery schemes while they try and best him themselves.
These various humours serve to create tension between Volpone’s schemes and trickery against the other characters’ futile attempts to outwit him . This causes humorous situations as we watch each character try different strategies against one another but inevitably fail because of Volpone’s cunningness or mistakes on their parts respectively
This creates an absurdly funny situation while also teaching moral lessons that makes this play truly a brilliant comedy of humours by Ben Jonson!
The wacky, yet relatable situations created through mixing all the different types of humors successfully teach us about how our individual attitudes either help or hinder us in life causing laughter along the way!
Here is a brief overview of Ben Jonson’s Everyman in His Humour as a comedy of humours.
In this play, Jonson presents humour through various characters who live in an urban setting and are each driven by their own distinct ‘humours’.
These characters include Putball—the prankster; Subtle doctor —the philosopher; Knowell–the wise man; and Kastril—the disagreeable suitor.
Each character serves to highlight the social values that were expected at the time while also providing comedic relief with their exaggerated behaviors due to their individual humours.
These diverse range of humorous characteristics serve to create tension between the mismatched relationships and brings up moments of absurdity whenever they try to outwit one another or come up against misery which is brought on by bad luck or even death.
This all builds up into a hilarious climax that ends in resolution where lessons have been learnt which ultimately make it a brilliant comedy of humours written by Ben Johnson!
Comedy of Humours Characteristics
Here are some characteristics commonly found in comedies of humours:
Use of witty dialogue between characters with different dispositions such as sanguine (optimistic/cheerful) and melancholic (pessimistic). For example between Malvolio and Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. This can show how two different personality types interact, allowing the writer to comment on various aspects of human behaviour.
Creative use of puns, plays on words and satire to explore themes such as love, morality and power dynamics within different societies. Example can be seen in Ben Jonson’s Every Man Out Of His Humour which satirizes English society at the time. Writers use humour to make light of certain situations or people, while still commenting on their underlying meanings.
Oftentimes these types of works contain extravagant comic characters who defy societal conventions through their outrageous behaviour like Face from Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist. These larger-than-life characters are used to enhance the comedic elements of the play and often teach valuable lessons about life and society for audiences to take away after viewing them in action.
A Comparison between Comedy of Humours and Comedy of Manners
Both comedy of humours and comedy of manners are types of comedic genres originating during different periods in English literature. Here is a comparison between the two:
Historical Period: Comedy of humours was first seen in the 16th century, while Comedy of manners is a genre of comedy that emerged during the Restoration period (1660-1700).
It focuses on satirizing the behaviours and habits of high society by highlighting social conventions, hypocrisies and foibles, usually through witty dialogue between characters.
This style of comedy often features an ensemble cast, with several plotlines intertwining to create an overall comedic effect. Ultimately its aim is to provide commentary about human interaction as well as offering audiences a chance to laugh at their own follies
Subject Matter: Comedy of humours typically revolves around characters whose behaviour is dictated by their bodily ‘humour’; this could range from sanguine (optimistic/cheerful) to melancholic (sad/pessimistic). On the other hand, comedy of manners is rooted in satirizing upper class society and its conventions, hypocrisies and foibles.
Characters: In comedies of humours, characters often have exaggerated personalities which define them (i.e. Sir Toby Belch’s boisterousness or Malvolio’s snobbishness). In contrast,comedies of manners focus less on individual characteristics but more on how different people interact based on their social standing and status within high society. Thus creating an ensemble cast with various plotlines which intertwine together as they throughout the play.
Tone & Atmosphere: Due to its focus on human behaviour and societal conventions carried out during that time period, comedies of humour tend to be lighthearted yet witty whereas comedies of manners usually carry a much heavier atmosphere as they often serve as commentary about how upper class societies operate.
As a whole, both forms provide audiences with a chance to laugh at our own follies while also providing insightful commentary about humanity’s strengths and weaknesses.
