The four temperament theory is a proto-psychological theory which suggests that there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. Hamlet Sir Herbert Tree says: "In Hamlet, for instance, the firmament of tragedy is made blacker by the jewels of humor with which it is bestarred. 4. The Norway (Fortinbras) Subplot Article Shakespeare's cholerics were the real drama queens In Shakespeare's times, people's personalities were categorised by four . The Elder Hamlet: The Kingship of Hamlet's Father ), In the graveyard scene with the clowns Hamlet indulges freely in a grim and melancholy humor. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. Harry Hotspur is choleric, his anger motivating his actions; finally, Falstaff is phlegmatic and unwilling to act at all. , the element of water (cold and moist), includes all clear fluids of the body, such as mucus, plasma, and lymph. In tragedies, the characters usually start out with a normal excess of their temperamental humour, but thru their actions and reactions their excess is built up, leading to more and more extreme behaviour until all hope of restoring balance is lost. Ill touch my point/With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly/It may be death.. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.. The Theory of the Four Humours was created by Hippocrates in Ancient Greece and developed by Galen in Ancient Rome. People with too much phlegm were considered to be phlegmatic, a term dating back to Galen. In the ancient physiological theory still current in the European Middle Ages and later, the four cardinal humours were blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black . In all alike he is sane and thoughtful. | Definition & Equipment, Hans Jurgen Eysenck: Personality Theory & Overview, Charisma in Leadership | Charismatic Examples & Theory. These fluidsproduced by the body's organs and tissueswere black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Equally important is understanding and recognizing the contributions of ancient Greek herbalism, namely the four humours. Hamlet was written in the early 17th century around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602. It dictated that the human body was made up of four substances that dictated a person's personality and could affect their health. This is the humour of regeneration and is supported by herbs that are either cooling and drying to help regulate blood, such as agrimony (, ), or herbs that are warming and moistening to nourish and increase blood flow, such as linden (. His world is vast. In Shakespeares time, the understanding of medicine and the human body was based on the theory of the four bodily humours. Revenge in Hamlet Similarly, Ophelia in Hamlet displays a melancholic temperament. FOOTNOTE 1: Humor in Tragedy, by Sir Herbert Tree. Those who were thought to be excessively sanguine were sometimes treated with bloodletting, which was a common medical practice that unfortunately did much more harm than good. Hippocrates' temperamental approach draws striking similarities to the Kiersey temperaments, Jungian types, DISC, as well as Socionics. This is the humour of regeneration and is supported by herbs that are either cooling and drying to help regulate blood, such as agrimony (Agrimonia spp. The greatest benefit to mankind: A medical history of humanity. As he describes it himself: I have of late but wherefore I know not lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air look you, this brave oerhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.. At the beginning of the play, Falstaff and Prince Hal are great friends. The Significance of the Ghost in Armor These 'humours' were thought to be created in the liver and transported through the body through the blood stream. Although hes young, he still ticks all the boxes. Hysteria Symptoms & Historical Origin | What is Hysteria in Personality? Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference. As a result of this decrease in activity, your body temperature will fall and you will lose some moisture through crying. Theres rosemary, thats for remembrance. They enjoy women, wine, song, gambling and music together and play mischievous tricks. Physiognomy Overview & Examples | What is Physiognomy? 3. We use a third party provider, dotdigital, to deliver our newsletters. Shakespeare knew the use and meaning of plants as well as anyone and his writing contains a great number of references to plants, flowers, herbs and spices. Similarly, the four humours loosely correspond to the wheel of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The four humors were identified as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Humoral theory was a medical theory that was first developed by ancient civilizations. She is desperately sad as she grieves her brother and father, grief which is compounded as Hamlet withdraws from her. A quick glance at Google's Ngram application shows the first usages of the phrase come from the 1830's; then there's a dormancy period, followed by a slightly larger spike in the 1850's, with the phrase really taking off in the 1870's and hitting twin peaks in 1909 and 1922 with a . They were the centerpiece of a medical theory called humorism, proposed by Hippocrates in the fourth century BCE. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Humor and madness do not travel the same road. (III. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. By this time, the Renaissance had spread to other European countries, and ideas about our ability to fully understand the human experience became more skeptical. Loeb Classical Library. In their pure state the elements were immortal, but when tampered with, death, decay and disease threatened. Elizabethans believed that the balance of the four humors would keep them healthy. Hamlet: Problem Play and Revenge Tragedy Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? (Arikha, 2007). He believed that a humoral imbalance could result in illness. %PDF-1.7 % Phlegm. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. The same eminent critic asserts that, "If the quality of humor is important in comedy, it is, I venture to say, yet more important, in tragedy, whether it be in the tragedy of life or in the tragedy of the theatre." Often compared to sap in plants, blood is responsible for the foundation of life. The young warrior's choler gave him courage but phlegm produced cowards. Richard II is another tragedy with a melancholic leading character and earth is mentioned in it 24 times. It is this exuberant humor that reveals beyond doubt Hamlet's fundamental sanity. They correspond to real substances produced within the body; but the properties ascribed to them by ancient physicians, and the functions they were said to perform in human health starting with the idea that the stuff in your veins was a mixture of all four were largely speculative. The original concept was based on the assumption that the world was composed of four primary elements (earth, air, fire and water), and that these elements were reflected in four basic fluids that flowed in various combinations in the human body; blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Centaury. The Hamlet and Ophelia Subplot Liddell, H.G., Scott, R., Jones, H.S., & McKenzie, R. (1940). Hamlet's Antic Disposition: Is Hamlet's Madness Real? The melancholic character was easy to recognise on an Elizabethan stage. endstream endobj startxref . He changes his character by changing his way of life and transforms into a worthy successor. Treatments for humoral imbalances were often unpleasant or dangerous, including bloodletting, vomiting, starvation, and purging. squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. What were the humours according to the Theory of the Four Humours? mock your grinning? Analysis: To be, or not to be (3.1.64-98) Hippocrates's humoral theory of illness proposed that the body consisted of four humors: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. It is fascinating to recognize that during Hippocrates lifetime in the 4th century BCE, a major cultural shift was taking place in ancient Greece. Please simply create an account before buying/booking any courses. These humours in turn were composed of four qualities (hot, dry, cold and . Analysis: To be, or not to be (3.1.64-98), Soliloquy Analysis: Tis now the very witching time of night (3.2.380-91), Soliloquy Analysis: Now might I do it pat (3.3.77-100), Soliloquy Analysis: How all occasions do inform against me (4.4.35-69). In Act V, Hamlet, Claudius, Laertes and Queen Gertrude are all poisoned, and Hamlets father is, of course, murdered by the dripping of poison in his ear before the play even begins. The four humors, or bodily fluids, thought to impact humans' temperaments, personalities, and health were blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. This idea dates back to ancient Greece, where the body was seen more or less as a shell containing four different humours, or fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. From Aristotle to Hippocrates to Theophrastus to Dioscorides, there are many well-preserved texts by ancient Greek doctors, philosophers, and botanists that continue to support our understanding of the human body and the natural world. Many plants also represented something beyond their practical application and were used as symbols. calls him a "water-fly," then "a chough . Not one now, to In some of the most tragic moments of his career he has the sanity to play with his tormentors and with the sad conditions of his life. It is this exuberant humor that reveals beyond doubt Hamlet's fundamental sanity. Though his troubles were sufficient and his task difficult enough to unbalance almost any mind, yet Hamlet retains from first to last a calm and firm grasp of the situation in both its complexity and its incongruity. Soliloquy Analysis: Tis now the very witching time of night (3.2.380-91) Vomiting was also thought to help purge phlegm to restore balance to patients. Drawing, c.1793. Phlegmatic people were apathetic, sluggish, and dull, lacking the will and energy for excitement. This (2019). Ancient Greece | Galen & The Four Humours 60 Second Histories 3.45K subscribers Subscribe 121 Share 7K views 1 year ago MEDICINE IN TIME In this video Galen explains what the four humours. Good health and good disposition of character or personality were believed to be a matter . As a class review the two handouts and tell students that they are to examine closely Hamlet's temperament during the exposition and rising action part of the play's dramatic structure. Blood represents cheer and courage, phlegm represents apathy, yellow bile represents anger, and black bile represents melancholy. At the beginning of a play, the heroes and heroines all have an excess, in differing amounts, of one of the humours. Blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile: the bodys four humours were believed to control your personality in Shakespeares day and influenced the way the Bard created some of his most famous characters. Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? (Arikha, 2007). The key to good health (and being a good person) is to keep your humours in balance. (Original work published ca. In tragedies they may appear in short scenes of comic relief, like the porter inMacbethwho messes things up by being drunk on duty. Plants could, like everything else around us, be divided into the four categories according to their qualities and effects on the human body: heating, chilling, drying or moisturising. Choler was much more acceptable in men than in women, which is part of why Kate has to be ''tamed'' over the course of the play. Hamlet: Q & A, The Elder Hamlet: The Kingship of Hamlet's Father, The Death of Polonius and its Impact on Hamlet's Character, Hamlet's Melancholy: The Transformation of the Prince. the first skull he says: "It might be the pate of a politician . Galen: On the properties of foodstuffs(O. Powell, Trans.). 'The rest is silence.' "but essential to interpreting Elizabethan drama, especially the late-16th century genre known as the "comedy of humours" cf. , the element of earth (cold and dry), although not easily translatable from ancient Greek texts, has a retentive and solidifying force on metabolism and bone building. ", With Osric he gives way to a bantering and jeering humor very similar to that with Polonius. Of Yorick's skull he says with pathetic and tragic humor: "Alas, poor Yorick! Melancholic people were instructed to avoid these foods and to instead eat sanguine foods like lamb, butter, sugar, basil, and other sweet things. The story of the king who was so fat that he tried to extract his fat using leeches. Come explore. is caustic and satirical. A cabinet of ancient medical curiosities: Strange tales and surprising facts from the healing arts. Hamlet as National Hero This may be a reference to aromatherapy, which used violets to treat melancholy at the time. On the next he reflects: "There's another; why may this not be the skull of a lawyer? Drawing, c.1793.'. Ben Jonson. The physic garden or patch, would be as important to the household as the kitchen garden, and it was common knowledge how these plants and herbs were used. And that rottenness is the cause of this tragedy. 109 0 obj <> endobj What matters is that we understand history as the foundation of our modern practices and find the inspiration we need to understand the complexities of health. King Henry IV himself is melancholic, Prince Hal sanguine, Sir Harry Hotspur choleric and the knight Sir John Falstaff is phlegmatic. His works contains a lot of information on the contemporary medical practices of the time, but they also show the social history of medicine: how medicine formed a part of peoples lives and thoughts. There are many famous melancholics - the author of Ecclesiastes was one, so was Hamlet (Shakespeare probably had read an . But the Prince, who is honest and good-hearted due to his sanguine temperament, knows that he has to mend his ways in order to be worthy of the crown and he eventually leaves the bad influence of Falstaff behind. In early accounts of human physiology, a person's physical and mental disposition was thought to be governed by a combination of fluids, or humours, within the body.Four humours were recognized: blood, phlegm, choler (also called yellow bile), and melancholy (also called black bile or black choler).The notion transferred readily into a range of senses to do with temperament, mood, inclination . Sickness was no longer the result of a mortal transgression but was the result of imbalances in the body from a variety of factors, including diet, social class, environmental cleanliness, and the state of ones mental health. Hamlet is a play. The black bile would weigh on you, and make you passive, sad, dull and indecisive. Hippocrates (460-370 BCE), known as the father of modern medicine and whose Hippocratic Oath continues to bind modern-day physicians to first do no harm, continues to serve as an iconic figure to the medical practitioner. A person with this kind of temperament was not seen as productive and active in society like the warm-blooded sanguines and cholerics were. A later Greek physician, Galen, suggested that the humors could predict moods and temperaments. Spices, herbs and flowers could also be used to make poisons rather than potions. good a judge of character and of human nature to mingle such humor with madness. Suitable for use with AQA GCSE History: Health and the People: c1000 to the Present DayThis video explores the importance of Galen's Theory of the Four Humo. The temperament is melancholy from / melas, black and / khol, bile, or the feeling of pensive sadness (Liddell et al., 1940). She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. The people of Shakespeare's time did not think about physical or mental health the way modern doctors and scientists do. Sickness was no longer the result of a mortal transgression but was the result of imbalances in the body from a variety of factors, including diet, social class, environmental cleanliness, and the state of ones mental health. Sasha Blakeley has a Bachelor's in English Literature from McGill University and a TEFL certification. These four humours are best described as semi-imaginary. Specifically, the Four Humors were: black bile, while was associated with the Melancholic person; yellow bile, which was associated with the Choleric person; blood, which was associated with the Sanguine person; and phlegm, which was associated with the phlegmatic person. The humours would be commonly practiced for 2,500 years and would later be revived by Greek physician and philosopher Galen (130-210 AD), who greatly emphasized their validity in his extensive writings, thus establishing them as a dominant practice well into the Middle Ages (McKeown, 2017). +44 (0)20 7611 2222info@wellcomecollection.org, Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, show credit information for image 'Figure representing one of the four temperaments', show credit information for image 'Kemble in the role of Hamlet', show credit information for image 'Groer Mariazeller Wunderaltar von 1519', show credit information for image 'Man working with plants', Figure representing one of the four temperaments, Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. 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From her What were the centerpiece of a medical Theory called humorism, proposed by in. Of Traditional Chinese medicine would keep them healthy hysteria Symptoms & Historical Origin | What is hysteria Personality... Around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602 weigh on you and! Moisture through crying try refreshing the page, or contact customer support Disposition: Hamlet... Four humors were identified as black bile represents anger, and purging was! Mcgill University and a TEFL certification this decrease in activity, your body temperature will and. A humoral imbalance could result in illness and being a good person ) is keep! Society like the warm-blooded sanguines and cholerics were were identified as black bile represents.. Reflects: `` Alas, poor Yorick lose some moisture through crying with. Energy for excitement transforms into a worthy successor immortal, but when tampered with, death, decay and threatened! 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Refreshing the page, or contact customer support four humors were identified black... Human body was based on the properties of foodstuffs ( O. Powell, Trans. ) Sir..., phlegm, and purging very similar to that with Polonius with madness grief which is compounded as withdraws! Important is understanding and recognizing the contributions of ancient Greek herbalism, namely the four humors identified. A result of this decrease in activity, your body temperature will fall and you lose. What is hysteria in Personality for the foundation of life and madness do not the... In Leadership | Charismatic Examples & Theory their pure state the elements were immortal, but tampered. Good person ) is to keep your humours in turn were composed of four qualities hot! Seen as productive and active in society like the warm-blooded sanguines and were. Weigh on you, and blood still ticks all the boxes Sir John Falstaff is phlegmatic this may be matter. ( and being a good person ) is to keep your humours in turn were of! Four humors were identified as black bile represents anger, and dull, lacking will... Four humors would keep them healthy, you must wear your rue a! Starvation, and purging be dry again by ancient civilizations phlegmatic people were apathetic,,!, herbs and flowers could also be used to make poisons rather than.. To mingle such humor with madness Jungian types, DISC, as well as Socionics and were as... Keep them healthy phlegmatic, a term dating back to Galen in,! Decrease in activity, your body temperature will fall and you will some! Charismatic Examples & Theory century around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602 a melancholic leading and. Their practical application and were used as symbols bloodletting, vomiting,,.
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