The Comedy of Humours was developed by Ben Jonson (1572–1637) in the late 1590s. It is based on the old medical theory of the four humours (body fluids): blood (sanguine – cheerful), phlegm (phlegmatic – dull, calm), yellow bile or choler (choleric – angry) and black bile (melancholic – sad). Health came from a balance of these. When one humour was too strong, a person became odd and one-sided. Jonson used "humour" to mean a ruling passion or obsession of a character.
Each character has one main oddity – jealousy, boasting, greed, false melancholy.
Type characters rather than rounded individuals; names often show the humour (Kitely, Bobadill, Knowell).
Satire and correction – the aim is to laugh at folly and correct it ("to sport with human follies, not with crimes").
Realism – everyday London/city life, not romantic forests.
Classical rules – unity of time, place and action respected.
Intrigue – a clever character (often a servant) plots and exposes the fools.
Mostly prose; plain, lively speech.
Characteristics of the Comedy of Manners
The Comedy of Manners flourished after the Restoration (1660) with Etherege, Wycherley, William Congreve, Vanbrugh and Farquhar. It shows the manners, fashions and love-games of the upper-class society of London.
Witty dialogue – repartee (quick clever replies) is the main pleasure.
Unit II: Pertinent Literature of the Period – Every Man in His Humour
Syllabus topics (RTMNU)
Every Man in His Humour by Ben Jonson
Every Man in His Humour – Ben Jonson
First acted in 1598 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men – Shakespeare himself acted in it. First set in Florence, Jonson later revised it and set it in London (Folio 1616). It is the first great Comedy of Humours.
Story in brief (our own words)
Old Knowell worries about his son Edward Knowell, who likes poetry and pleasure. He reads a letter from Edward's friend Wellbred inviting Edward to London, and secretly follows him.
Brainworm, Knowell's clever servant, takes many disguises (a soldier, a clerk) to fool the old man and to help young Edward.
In London, Wellbred's sister Bridget lives in the house of the merchant Kitely, who is madly jealous of his wife. His suspicion makes him a figure of fun.
Other humours: Captain Bobadill – a cowardly boaster who claims great fighting skills but is beaten by Downright; Master Stephen – a foolish country gull who wants to look melancholy and gentlemanly; Master Matthew – a "town gull" who steals other men's verses; Downright – a blunt, angry squire; Cob – a water-carrier.
Confusions and quarrels bring everyone before Justice Clement, a merry judge. He sorts out the mess, praises Brainworm's wit, approves the secret marriage of Edward and Bridget, exposes the fools and cures Kitely's jealousy. All end in feasting.
Main features
Each character is ruled by a humour – jealousy (Kitely), boasting (Bobadill), foolishness (Stephen, Matthew), anxiety (Old Knowell).
Brainworm is the engine of the plot – the clever servant of Roman comedy.
Realistic London setting; satire of affectation and folly.
RTMNU BA Sem 2 · English Literature T-4 · Unit III
Unit III: Representative Literature of the Age – The Way of the World
Syllabus topics (RTMNU)
The Way of the World by William Congreve
The Way of the World – William Congreve
William Congreve (1670–1729) was the finest writer of Restoration Comedy of Manners. Plays: The Old Bachelor, The Double Dealer, Love for Love and The Way of the World (1700), his masterpiece, though it was not very successful on its first stage run.
Story in brief (our own words)
Mirabell, a witty gentleman, loves Millamant, a lively, witty lady. Half of her fortune is controlled by her aunt Lady Wishfort, who hates Mirabell because he once pretended to love her.
Mirabell plots: his servant Waitwell (married to Lady Wishfort's maid Foible) will disguise himself as "Sir Rowland", Mirabell's uncle, and court Lady Wishfort. Mirabell hopes to use this trick to win her consent.
Fainall (who married Lady Wishfort's daughter for money) and his mistress Mrs Marwood discover the plot. Fainall threatens to expose his own wife's past affair with Mirabell and demands Lady Wishfort's fortune.
The famous "proviso scene" (Act IV): Mirabell and Millamant set witty conditions for their marriage – she wants freedom, privacy and to "dwindle into a wife" slowly; he wants no tight-lacing, no cosmetics and no secret friends.
In the end Mirabell produces a deed by which Mrs Fainall had earlier given her fortune in trust to him, so Fainall's blackmail fails. Lady Wishfort, grateful, agrees to the marriage of Mirabell and Millamant.
Comic characters
Witwoud and Petulant – would-be wits / fops.
Sir Wilfull Witwoud – rough country squire.
Lady Wishfort – vain old lady who still wishes for love; she covers her wrinkles with paint.
Themes
Love vs money in marriage; the "way of the world" = selfishness and deceit in fashionable society.
True wit vs false wit.
Marriage as an equal contract (proviso scene).
Features
Brilliant prose dialogue, repartee, complex intrigue, satire on hypocrisy, elegant style – the best example of the Comedy of Manners.
Remember: 1700 · Mirabell + Millamant · Lady Wishfort · Fainall + Mrs Marwood · Sir Rowland trick · proviso scene · deed of trust.
Likely exam questions
(Long, Long answer (about 16 marks)) Discuss The Way of the World as a Comedy of Manners.
(Long, Long answer (about 16 marks)) Write a note on the proviso scene and the characters of Mirabell and Millamant.
(Short, Short note (about 4 marks)) Write a character sketch of Lady Wishfort.
(Short, Short note (about 4 marks)) Explain the title The Way of the World.
(Short, Short note (about 4 marks)) What role do Fainall and Mrs Marwood play?