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humour

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An archaic medical and psychological concept referring to one of the four bodily fluids—blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile—believed to govern temperament and health; used poetically to describe mood or character.

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Detailed Definition
In pre-modern literature, “humour” denoted one of the four vital fluids—blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile—whose balance or imbalance was thought to determine human temperament, health, and behavior. Poets employed the term to explore character with physiological precision, as in Chaucer’s portraits or Jonson’s comedies, where a “melancholic humour” or “sanguine humour” defined moral and emotional disposition. This Galenic framework allowed poets to link bodily states with psychological traits, lending depth to allegory and satire. Even as medicine advanced, the term persisted in verse to evoke inner states with archaic gravitas, transforming psychological nuance into a poetic taxonomy of the soul.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Chaucer’s “The Knight’s Tale,” the knight’s melancholy is described as stemming from his black humour, reflecting the medieval belief that inner sorrow arose from bodily imbalance;|Spenser’s “Epithalamion” contrasts the bride’s sanguine humour with the groom’s fiery yellow humour, using bodily fluids to symbolize emotional harmony in marriage;|Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” laments his “dull and muddy-mettled rascal,” attributing his inaction to an excess of phlegmatic humour, a common poetic trope for lethargy;|In John Donne’s “A Valediction: Of Weeping,” the speaker’s tears are said to be born of a humour too tender for the world, blending medical theory with romantic longing;|Ben Jonson’s “Every Man in His Humour” personifies each character by their dominant humour—choleric, phlegmatic, or melancholic—making the term a structural device for satire;|In Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Adam’s grief after the Fall is described as a “black humour” thickening his spirit, linking spiritual despair with ancient physiological theory.
Additional Notes
The concept of "humour" originates from ancient Greek and Roman medicine (Hippocrates, Galen) and dominated Western thought until the 18th century. Poets frequently used the four humours—sanguine (blood), phlegmatic (phlegm), choleric (yellow bile), and melancholic (black bile)—to characterize personalities, explain emotional states, or critique social behaviors. Understanding humoural theory enriches readings of Renaissance drama (e.g., Jonson’s "humours" comedies) and metaphysical poetry, where bodily imbalance often symbolizes moral or cosmic disorder. Modern students may confuse this archaic "humour" with the modern sense of "wit" or "comedy," so distinguishing these usages is essential. Related terms include "temperament," "complexion," and "disposition"—all rooted in the same physiological framework.
Also Known As
humor mood temperament
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