Humors Comedy Criticism
The literary form known as humors comedy emerged in the late sixteenth century as a distinctive genre on the Elizabethan stage, with Ben Jonson as its foremost practitioner. This comedy style is rooted in ancient theories of human dispositions, where character traits are thought to be influenced by the balance of bodily fluids, or 'humors,' a concept introduced by Hippocrates and expanded by Galen. Jonson harnessed this idea, crafting plays where characters are often defined by a dominant trait or 'humor' that governs their actions, as explored in The Character of Jonson's Comedy. His works moved away from the high culture of the Renaissance, reflecting distinctly English values and everyday situations, and often critiqued societal vices, as noted by James D. Redwine Jr..
Jonson's influence is evident in the works of contemporaries like Shakespeare, who incorporated humors into plays such as The Merry Wives of Windsor and Twelfth Night, as discussed by Mueschke and Fleisher. The genre also inspired other playwrights like Nathaniel Field and Richard Brome. While only a handful of Jonson's plays, including Every Man in His Humour and Cynthia's Revels, are classified strictly as humors comedies, the focus on character shaped even his later works, as noted by Charles Read Baskerville.
Critics have debated the significance of humors comedy within Jonson's oeuvre. Some argue that his development of this genre established him as an original and powerful writer, while others, such as John J. Enck, suggest it is overstated. Nevertheless, the genre's classical roots and its reflection of Elizabethan ideas on physiology and morality continue to captivate scholars, as examined by M. Harris.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Criticism: Overviews
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The Origin of the Seventeenth Century Idea of Humours
(summary)
In the following essay, Harris examines the history of the concept of humors as used by Jonson, Molière, and other seventeenth-century writers.
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A Study of Humours
(summary)
In the following essay, Baskerville discusses the meaning of “humors” as used by Jonson; examines Jonson's predecessors' use of the term; explores the connections between humors comedy, morality, and psychology; and considers the treatment of humors in works by John Lyly, Gabriel Harvey, Thomas Nashe, and others.
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The Character of Jonson's Comedy
(summary)
In the following excerpts from a work originally published in 1912, Kerr outlines the distinguishing features of Jonson's comedy of humors and discusses his influence on other playwrights.
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Chaucerian Comedy: The Merchant's Tale, Jonson, and Molière
(summary)
In the following essay, McGalliard maintains that Chaucer's characterization in The Merchant's Tale anticipates techniques of humors comedy used by Molière.
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The Origin of the Seventeenth Century Idea of Humours
(summary)
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Criticism: Major Figures: Ben Jonson
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The Comic Humours: A New Interpretation
(summary)
In the following essay, Snuggs contends that previous critics have misunderstood Jonson's notion of humors in his comedies, and suggests that Jonson used the concept not in a strict scientific manner but in the more popular sense of affectation and eccentricity.
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The Streame of Humour
(summary)
In the following essay, Enck claims that the Jonsonian concept of humors has been misinterpreted and misapplied, and maintains that the humors are less prevalent in Jonson's plays than critics have claimed.
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Beyond Psychology: The Moral Basis of Jonson's Theory of Humour Characterization
(summary)
In the following essay, Redwine contends that Jonsonian humors characterization, whether considered as an account of human behavior or a form of dramatic characterization, has its basis not in psychology or aesthetics but in morality.
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Every Man in His Humour: Classical and Native Elements in the First Comedy of Humours
(summary)
In the following essay, Gottwald analyzes the structural content of Jonson's Every Man in His Humour, traces its classical and English roots, and explores its own distinctive features.
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The Habits and Ben Jonson's Humours
(summary)
In the following essay, Shenk responds to critic James Redwine's analysis of Jonsonian humors characterization as primarily moral, but goes further and shows that the notion of habit or custom, the backbone of seventeenth-century morality, played a key role in Jonson's dramatic theory.
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Ben Jonson, Theophrastus, and the Comedy of Humours
(summary)
In the following essay, McCabe argues that the Greek writer Theophrastus was the dominant influence on Jonson's theory of humors as displayed in Every Man in His Humour.
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The Comic Humours: A New Interpretation
(summary)
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Criticism: Major Figures: William Shakespeare
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Jonsonian Elements in the Comic Underplot of Twelfth Night.
(summary)
In the following essay, Mueschke and Fleisher point out Shakespeare's indebtedness to Jonson's humors comedy in the complex subplot of Twelfth Night, noting the adaptation of the Jonsonian humors character in the person of Malvolio.
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‘A Formal Man Again’: Physiological Humours in The Comedy of Errors
(summary)
In the following essay, Cacicedo argues that the language of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors can be read not only in psychoanalytic terms, as most critics have done, but also in relation to the comedy of humors.
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Falstaff's False Staff: ‘Jonsonian’ Asexuality in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
(summary)
In the following essay, Tiffany contends that Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is an early experiment in Jonsonian humors comedy, and that Shakespeare participated in the formation of the genre.
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Double Heresy and Bourgeois Humours in Windsor
(summary)
In the following essay, Reid argues that Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor employs humors in its burlesque of Christopher Marlowe's plays and in particular his bourgeois characters.
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Jonsonian Elements in the Comic Underplot of Twelfth Night.
(summary)
- Further Reading