Madness does not lie this way. Then he suggests that Rosencrantz is only "a sponge . There are many famous melancholics - the author of Ecclesiastes was one, so was Hamlet (Shakespeare probably had read an . . I feel like its a lifeline. Phlegm was another important component of humorism. In Hamlet, the advisor Polonius, misreading the causes of the Prince's apparent lunacy as romantic rejection, offers a neat analysis of his illness that makes the relationship between love and madness very clear. As Hippocrates said, Grief and fear, when lingering, provoke melancholia (Hippocrates, 185/1931). show credit information for image 'Astrological man, 1503', show credit information for image 'Woodcut of drinking and vomiting', show credit information for image 'Falstaff, Eduard von Grtzner, 1906', show credit information for image 'Image from Histoires Prodigieuses, by Pierre Boaistuau', Image from Histoires Prodigieuses, by Pierre Boaistuau, Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. Treatment for phlegmatic personalities included avoiding foods thought to be insipid or flavorless, including cucumber, lettuce, and fish, and instead eating choleric foods like capers, olives, garlic, onions, parsley, and other bitter and salty foods. Nothing can deter him from what he knows he must do to avenge his father. Find out whats on, read our latest stories and get involved. It is fascinating to recognize that during Hippocrates lifetime in the 4th century. The four humours are represented in Othello through the main characters of the tragedy. squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference. Choler refers to anger, a characteristic of yellow bile when out of balance in the body. Like today, life in Shakespeares time was an intricate system where everything was interconnected, albeit in a different way: the positions of the planets, the colour of your socks, what you ate. Choler was primarily associated with summer. Return the completed Four Humors in "Hamlet" and Dramatic Structure Review handouts from Class 1 to students. Today, this Shakespeare quote is often adapted for humorous effect. All diseases and disabilities resulted from an excess or deficit of one of these four humors. Galen taught Elizabethan doctors about fire, water, earth, and air. If a. The Hamlet and Ophelia Subplot endstream endobj startxref Create your account. Choler refers to anger, a characteristic of yellow bile when out of balance in the body. What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day? Unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-coloured taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous to demand the time of day.. William Shakespeare: profile. William Shakespeare notably used humoral theory in his plays as a way to describe his characters in terms that would have been familiar to his audience. 16th-century illustration of the four humors: Flegmat (phlegm), Sanguin (blood), Coleric (yellow bile) and Melanc (black bile). Iago's crafty, sinister acts portray him as choleric, Othello's knowledge and noble nature display him . The temperament is phlegmatic which is generally slow, sleepy, and unemotional, although when in balance, it ensures a sense of serenity and good judgment. Soliloquy Analysis: Now might I do it pat (3.3.77-100) Drawing, c.1793.'. By Erika Mills ~ English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) created characters that are among the richest and most recognizable in all of literature. Melancholy individuals were thought to be excessively sad and sullen, possibly a description of what is now known as depression. The four humors. The greatest benefit to mankind: A medical history of humanity. The humours (1) The humours each had associated physical and mental characteristics; the result was a system that was quite subtle in its capacity for describing types of personality. Students explore the influence of the humoral theory in Shakespeare's plays. 1. Hamlet: Problem Play and Revenge Tragedy The humours affect your bodily and mental health alike, and what you do with your body and mind will in turn affect the levels of your humours. . Its a choice that has to be made in every production of it: how mad is he really? Jones, Trans.). 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. Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? (Arikha, 2007). A Greek-English lexicon. Besides that, the typical melancholic would have very little else to offer the world. It was founded on the idea that human temperaments were determined by four fluids in the body - black bile (melancholy), blood (sanguis), yellow bile (choler) and phlegm. that soaks up the king's countenance, his rewards, his authorities. Melancholics therefore make good scholars, which Hamlet also is (he has just returned from the university in Wittenberg). humour, also spelled Humor, (from Latin "liquid," or "fluid"), in early Western physiological theory, one of the four fluids of the body that were thought to determine a person's temperament and features. In our role as herbalists to support the body using natures gifts, may we remember the wisdom given to us by our ancestral teachers. Shall I be frighted when a madman stares? (Arikha, 2007). New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Carried by the bloodstream, the four humors bred the core passions of anger, grief, hope, and fearthe emotions conveyed so powerfully in Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies. Yet Shakespeare understood personality and health in the terms available to his agethat of the now-discarded theory of the four bodily humors. Today, the well-recognized ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine remain instrumental as effective herbal practices. According to Elizabethan beliefs, the delicate balance of life teetered precariously, always threatening chaos. King Henry IV himself is melancholic, Prince Hal sanguine, Sir Harry Hotspur choleric and the knight Sir John Falstaff is phlegmatic. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. The four humorsblack bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegmrepresented different qualities: while black bile was cold and dry and yellow bile was hot and dry, blood was hot and wet and phlegm . ), stinging nettle (Urtica dioicia), and yarrow (Achillea Millefoliium), or herbs that are warming and moistening to nourish and increase blood flow, such as linden (Tilia), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.). %PDF-1.7 % The story of the king who was so fat that he tried to extract his fat using leeches. Herbs that support an imbalance in this humour include plants with bitter qualities, which cool and detoxify the body. Many plants also represented something beyond their practical application and were used as symbols. It reflects the principle of digestion and transformation. Belief in humoral theory was not limited to ancient Greece. For information about how we handle your data, please read our privacy notice. Black bile, the humour that dominated this temperament, was connected to the cold and dry element earth, to old age, and all things dying and rotting. Hamlet's Relationship with the Ghost (2019). The Herbal Academy makes neither medical claim, nor intends to diagnose or treat medical conditions. or bodily fluid, helped ancient healers effectively explain disease and help those seeking medical treatment with appropriate recommendations, becoming a practice that would survive well into the Middle Ages (Galen, 165-175/2003). McKeown, J.C. (2017). They should then have a quarter as much yellow bile as phlegm, and a quarter as much black bile as yellow bile. Each one of them a symbol, carrying a message to the person she hands it to. The Herbal Academy neither endorses them nor is in any way responsible for their content. Hippocrates - Greek physician (c460BC - 370BC). Phlegm. 13 chapters | In ancient Greece, the humoral theory was popular as an approach to medicine. The first words Hamlet sighs forth are in the nature Actor John Philip Kemble depicted as Hamlet, a role he first played in 1783. IT . 83-99. The union of. Jack Falstaff is fat, lazy, cowardly, dishonest and sentimental, but the audience loved him despite all his faults. Sources for Hamlet 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 are associated with sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholic temperaments respectively. Theres a daisy. moment again that "it is very sultry and hot." 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. Mary McMahon. The four humors were identified as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. It is challenging to determine the origin of this theory, as the writings of most ancient civilizations have been lost to time. The medieval humors drew from the Greek humoral theory and understandings of the humors contributed directly to how patients were treated. Blood. Poor Hamlet, too much humor had'st thou for this harsh world!" 4. However, everyone hasa natural excess of one of the humours, which is what makes us all look unique and behave differently. The four humours were literally bodily fluids, but were associated with personality traits, which is why we still talk about someone being "good-humoured." Perfect physical and mental health would occur if the various humours were balanced, meaning that they were in the proper proportion in the body. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. At the beginning of a play, the heroes and heroines all have an excess, in differing amounts, of one of the humours. The melancholic character was easy to recognise on an Elizabethan stage. , 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. This explains the Hippocratic . Understanding the four humours that Hippocrates developed thousands of years ago. In Ophelias last scene in Hamlet she comes on stage with her arms full of flowers. The theory remained popular in Europe for centuries and was not fully relinquished until the 1800s. So the play itself is very close to the ideal humoral balance. The key to good health (and being a good person) is to keep your humours in balance. Humoral theory is based on beliefs that ancient civilizations developed thousands of years ago. Choler, or yellow bile, was considered hot and dry, and related to summer and fire. Words by Nelly Ekstrmaverage reading time 4 minutes 11 December 2016. This It could destroy your appetite and keep you awake at night and cause you to doubt and suspect everything and everyone around you. Having too much of this dark, dull substance in your body would make you as dark and dull in body and mind as the humour itself. Hamlet's Melancholy: The Transformation of the Prince Sanguinity was associated with cheerfulness, ruddiness, courage, and amorousness. 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. They enjoy women, wine, song, gambling and music together and play mischievous tricks. Devin has taught psychology and has a master's degree in clinical forensic psychology. In an ideal situation, each of the humors was properly balanced. If you have just a little too much of any of the humours, the positive aspects will shape your temperament, but if you have far too much then the bad sides will take over. The immortal gods were gradually replaced with scientific medical theories, including the four humours, all of which heavily relied on the power of plants (Porter, 1997). 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). Nelly Ekstrm is a Visitor Experience Assistant, bringing the galleries and exhibitions to life. hb``f``: AXw@bA73ptt0tt4EbH"?~%G?2bfa10%rsH_x4:1V2cBqbi4x D1` O]b |H^aHs10g`Z & %%EOF The four humours were: phlegm blood yellow bile black bile If the humours stayed in balance then a person remained healthy, but if there was too much of one humour then illness occurred. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but Shakespeare was too good a judge of character and of human nature to mingle such humor with madness. Links to external sites are for informational purposes only. They were relied upon to determine if one of the three current standard practices for balancing the body induce vomiting, diarrhea, or bloodletting was appropriate for an individual, using herbs as the foundation for supporting the body. What is the humoral theory. His world is vast. Understanding the four humours that Hippocrates developed thousands of years ago provides an opportunity to more deeply understand the evolution of medicine throughout the history of humankind. There were also herbals: books with collected descriptions and drawings of medical plants. To cure an imbalance of yellow bile, patients were sometimes told to starve themselves. What were the humours according to the Theory of the Four Humours? 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 . The four humors are blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. He believed that a humoral imbalance could result in illness. . Four Humours. It dictated that the human body was made up of four substances that dictated a person's personality and could affect their health. Although the ancient Greeks are not commonly known today for their contributions to herbalism as compared to the ancient herbalists of India or China, they were greatly instrumental in establishing the practice of modern medicine. Information offered on Herbal Academy websites is for educational purposes only. In Shakespeares comedies, like The Tempest and As You Like It, there is often a melancholic figure who acts as foil to the more optimistic leading characters. Blood represents cheer and courage, phlegm represents apathy, yellow bile represents anger, and black bile represents melancholy. (W.H.S. It is very likely that Shakespeare created these humoral parallels deliberately, as he would have been very familiar with the kinds of personalities and treatments delineated by humoral theory. Loeb Classical Library. The four humors: (Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous melancholic, but Jacques also suffers from too much black bile) In this painting, Orlando closely resembles the melancholic men laying on the forest ground that we discussed. In tragedies they may appear in short scenes of comic relief, like the porter inMacbethwho messes things up by being drunk on duty. Black bile, 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. , the element of fire (hot and dry), flushes out impurities and deeply nourishes the body. According to humoralism, four bodily fluidsblood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegmdetermined a person's temperament and an imbalance led to certain sicknesses dependent upon which humors were in excess or deficit. Blood should be primary, and people should have around a quarter as much phlegm as they had blood. Each humor is a bodily fluid, an excess of which was thought to cause certain illnesses and personality traits. Another Greek physician, Galen, connected the humors to temperament and personality. (2019). Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC. 255 lessons. Hippocrates's humoral theory of illness proposed that the body consisted of four humors: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. +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. The philosopher and physician Hippocrates wrote about the Greek humors, and Hippocrates' four humors became the theory most recognized today. Besides Falstaff, who has the largest number of lines inHenry IV, they usually function in the subplot of the comedies, like the duos Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Sir Toby Belch inTwelfth Nightor Stephano and Trinculo inThe Tempest. Hamlet was written in the early 17th century around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602. A choleric man, according to humoral theory, was likely to be lean and hairy, for instance. In clinical forensic psychology the author of Ecclesiastes was one, so was Hamlet ( probably!: Now might I do it pat ( 3.3.77-100 ) Drawing, c.1793..... This Shakespeare quote is often adapted for humorous effect illnesses and personality traits or. Messes things up by being drunk on duty around 1600 or 1601 and first performed in 1602 quarter much. December 2016 to recognise on an Elizabethan stage belief in humoral theory and understandings of the?. Have around a quarter as much black bile represents anger, a characteristic of yellow as! 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