Primary Qualities and Simple Bodies

Dating back to ancient Greece, philosophers have investigated the nature of matter and how to categorize it. In the fifth century BCE, Empedocles of Acragas pioneered the influential theory that four stable elements (fire, air, water and earth) were the foundation to all matter. His theory held that these elements created everything in the visible world. These four distinct divisions provided the foundation for further understanding and categorization of nature’s elements.

The ancient Greek physician Galen (129–216 CE) speculated that the four primary elements expressed themselves as combinations of more basic qualities which he called simple bodies. The simple bodies were categorized into hot, cold, dry, and moist. He suggested that the combination of any two of these basic qualities produces one of the four primary elements. His work shows a preliminary attempt at understanding and explaining chemical changes. Fire Hot + Dry Air Hot + Moist Water Cold + Moist Earth Cold + Dry

The Four Humours

The most famous physicians of ancient Greece, Hippocrates (460–370 BCE) and later Galen, hypothesized the human body was exclusively composed of a mixture of the four humours. Hippocrates suggested that the four humours were by-products of simple bodies, like all matter found in nature. Phlegm Cold + Moist Black Bile Cold + Dry Blood Hot + Moist Yellow Bile Hot + Dry While Hippocrates linked the fluid humors to the combination of natural elements, Galen suggested that an individual’s personality and temperament is the result of an imbalance, either excess or deficiency, of one or two of the humors.

The early modern period incorporated Hippocrates and Galen’s concepts into medical practices. Physicians believed that health was dependent on a humoral equilibrium in the body, so disease was the result of a humour that was out of balance. Often, treatment was rooted in rebalancing humours in the body by means of diet. For example, if an individual had an excess of phlegm, which is a combination of cold and moist, it would be treated by eating foods with the opposite combination of simple bodies (hot and dry).

The Four Humours and Temperament

Early modern English medicine believed that all individuals possessed a complexion or temperament that reflected their unique blend of qualities and humours. A slightly higher level of one of the humours resulted in a positive presentation of the humour. However, a great overabundance of one humour resulted in a more intense and negative characteristic. Humoural Temperment Cause Associated Organ Characteristics Shakespeare Characters Melancholic Excess black bile Spleen Pessimism, gloom, depression, introspection, moodiness, hypochondria Hamlet, Benedick, Romeo Choleric Excess yellow bile Gall bladder Anger, violence, volatility, resentment, rage, spite, ambition, vengefulness Lady Macbeth, Petruchio, Katerina Minola Phlegmatic Excess phlegm Brain Laziness, apathy, impassivity, calmness, sleepiness, cowardice Sir John Falstaff, Sir Toby Belch Sanguine Excess blood Heart Optimism, passion, boldness, kindness, courage, youth, overindulgence Prince Hal (Henry V), Rosalind

This summary based on Cummings and Ekstrom

Humours and Shakespearean Cosmology

In her article , Caitlyn Fahey asserts that Shakespeare used the theory of the four humours to develop many of his characters throughout his work. She says that many figures display several humoral traits while other characters distinctly depict an overabundance of one humour in particular.

The melancholy temperament appears prominently in Elizabethan literature and can be easily recognized in Shakespeare’s works. tells the tragic story of a man grieving the loss of his father, the recent remarriage of his mother to his uncle, and a turbulent love affair. Hamlet is a melancholic character. After the death of his father, his mother does his best to cheer him up when she says, Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off (1.2.71). She tells him to release the darkness (melancholy) that is consuming his disposition, as well as asking him to change his clothes from the mourning garb he has been wearing (Fahey 10).

A strong example of a phlegmatic character in Shakespeare’s work is Sir John Falstaff in . A quote from Prince Hal illuminates the temperament of Falstaff’s character: Thou art so fat-witted with drinking of old sac, and unbuttoning thee after supper, and sleeping upon benches after noon, that thou hast forgotten to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly know. 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.(1.2.2–11)

Prince Hal describes Falstaff as lazy, sleepy, apathetic, drunk, fat, and old, which are all key characteristics of a phlegmatic temperament (18).

For a choleric temperament, one can look to Lady Macbeth. In the play , she convinces her husband to murder the king so that they can have a chance at the crown. Her actions are ambitious, vengeful, and violent. Her choleric character type is on full display when Lady Macbeth orders the spirits to Take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers (1.5.48). The gall bladder is associated with a choleric temperament and the production of yellow bile. In essence, Lady Macbeth instructs the spirits to take the milk from her breasts to make room for yellow bile that will fill her with ruthlessness and rage (Fahey 28).

Characters with sanguine temperamentare are much more difficult to distinguish. Perhaps the clearest example is Viola from . Viola is a passionate, devoted, and optimistic character. She is determined to win the heart of Orsino, who is in love with the countess Olivia. Several lines in the play make references to the liver, an organ associated with blood and thereby a sanguine complexion. In disguise as a young man called Caersario, Olivia suggests to the duke that another woman could love him as strongly as Olivia, to which he responds, Their love may be called appetite, no motion of the liver, but the palate (2.4.56–7). Humoral theory holds that passion is a by-product an excess of blood in the liver. By saying this, Orsino explains that another could love him but that it could not match the passion he feels for Olivia. Despite being rejected, Viola stays true to her optimistic and bold temperament and, in the end, does win the duke’s heart (36).

Key Print Sources Hoeniger, F. David. . University of Delaware Press, 1992. Nutton, Vivian. . Routledge, 2004. Shakespeare, William. . Ed. David Bevington. . Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. pp. 373–411. Shakespeare, William. . Ed. David Bevington. . Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. pp. 552–604. Shakespeare, William. . Ed. David Bevington. . Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. pp. 715–747. Shakespeare, William. . Ed. David Bevington. . Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. pp. 194–226.

Key Online Sources Brander, Elizabeth. . . Washngton University School of Medicine, 30 Oct. 2020. https://becker.wustl.edu/news/humoralism-and-the-seasons/. Ekstrom, Nelly. . . 11 Dec. 2016. https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/W-MM-xUAAAinxgs3. Fahey, Caitlyn. . . https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1229&context=etd. Kingsley, K., and R. Parry. . Ed. Edward N. Zalta. . Summer 2020. . https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/empedocles/. Hankinson, J. Robert. . 2017. . 10.4000/aitia.1863. Lyon, Karen. . . 4 Dec. 2015. https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/the-four-humors-eating-in-the-renaissance/. Singer, P. N. . . Winter 2021. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. . https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/galen/#ElemPrinMatt.