Q. Define the Comedy of Humours. How does Ben Jonson use this to satirize? (12 Marks)
Introduction:
The Jacobean dramatist Ben Jonson was a classicist who believed drama should not just entertain, but also instruct. Disdaining the romantic fantasies of his contemporaries, Jonson developed a new, realistic type of comedy aimed at correcting social vices. His primary tool for this didactic art was the Comedy of Humours, a dramatic form where characters are governed by a single, overriding passion or trait. Through this method, Jonson created exaggerated caricatures to satirize the follies and moral affectations of his age.
1. Defining the Concept: From Physiology to Psychology
The theory of "humours" originates from ancient and medieval medicine. It was believed that a person's physical and mental health depended on the balance of four bodily fluids, or humours: blood (sanguine/optimistic), phlegm (phlegmatic/dull), yellow bile (choleric/angry), and black bile (melancholic/sad).
Jonson adapted this physiological theory into a psychological tool for characterization. In his Induction to Every Man Out of His Humour, he defined a humour character not by a bodily fluid, but by a dominant psychological obsession that "floweth one way" and dictates all their actions. A character is not complex; they are their humour. They lack free will because they are enslaved by one ruling passion, be it greed, jealousy, hypocrisy, or affectation.
2. Jonson's Satirical Purpose
Jonson uses the Comedy of Humours to launch a scathing satire on the society of his time. His purpose is corrective. By isolating a specific vice within a character and exaggerating it to monstrous proportions, Jonson makes the vice appear ridiculous and repulsive. The audience, seeing greed or hypocrisy stripped of all complexity and presented in its raw, obsessive form, is moved to laugh at it and, ideally, avoid it in themselves. The humour character is a walking social critique.
Key takeaway: Jonson’s satire works through exaggeration and simplification. He doesn't present rounded human beings like Shakespeare; he presents animated obsessions to expose moral sickness.
3. Case Study in Satire: Volpone
Jonson's masterpiece, Volpone, or The Fox, is the perfect illustration of the Comedy of Humours used for satire. The central "humour" driving the plot is Avarice (greed). The play is a dark satire on a society ravaged by the worship of gold.
Each character is defined by their specific type of greed. The protagonist, Volpone, is governed by his sensual delight in acquiring wealth through trickery. His "parasite," Mosca, is driven by the humour of manipulative cunning to feed off others. The "legacy hunters"—Voltore (the vulture), Corbaccio (the raven), and Corvino (the crow)—are reduced entirely to their predatory greed. Voltore debases the law, Corbaccio disinherits his own son, and Corvino prostitutes his wife, all because their "humour" of avarice blinds them to morality and reason. Jonson presents them not as humans, but as beasts preyed upon by their own obsessions, offering a powerful satirical commentary on the dehumanizing effects of greed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ben Jonson redefined English comedy by grounding it in intellect and moral purpose. The Comedy of Humours was not merely a technique for creating eccentric characters; it was a surgical instrument for satire. By reducing human complexity to a single, overwhelming passion, Jonson held up a mirror to the vices of the Jacobean age, forcing his audience to confront the ridiculousness of their own follies through the distorted, yet truthful, reflection on stage.
đ Comedy of Humours đ
Comedy of Humours is a type of comedy where people behave in a funny way because of one strong habit.
đĄ Meaning of Humours
Long ago, people believed that the human body has four humours (liquids). These humours control our nature.
- Blood – makes a person happy and cheerful đ
- Yellow bile – makes a person angry đ
- Black bile – makes a person sad đĸ
- Phlegm – makes a person calm and slow đ
đ Why is it Funny?
When one humour becomes too strong, the person behaves in a strange way. This strange behaviour makes people laugh.
đ¤ Characters in Comedy of Humours
- A man who is always angry
- A man who talks only about money
- A man who thinks he is very clever
The famous writer Ben Jonson wrote many Comedies of Humours.
đ In Short
Comedy of Humours shows funny characters with one strong habit that makes us laugh.
đ Moral: We should not have too much of one habit.
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