Macbeth and the Four Temperaments

638 Words2 Pages

The four humors – melancholic, phlegmatic, choleric, and sanguine – are evident in many of William Shakespeare’s plays, most notably in Macbeth. Due to supernatural occurrences, the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, show a change in their personalities throughout the play.

In Elizabethan times, the four liquids of the body determined a person’s character. Melancholic personalities are governed by black bile. Melancholic people are usually introverted and cautious, and get caught up in tragedy in the world. Phlegmatic people are represented with phlegm. A person with a phlegmatic personality is typically relaxed, but their relaxation can transpose into laziness. Choleric personalities are identified with yellow bile. Choleric persons are ambitious and possess leader-like qualities. Sanguine personalities can be defined as having blood as the dominant humor. These people are spontaneous and charismatic. A simple change in the time of day, or season, plays a part in a person’s temperament.

“Just as the four humors consisted of two of the four qualities, hot, cold, moist, dry, Diamond places the four temperaments at 45-degree angles between each axis. Thus, sanguinity belongs between High Activity/Excitement and Approach/Pleasantness, phlegm between Approach/Pleasantness and Low Activity/Depression, melancholia between Low Activity/Depression and Withdrawal/Unpleasantness, and choler between Withdrawal/Unpleasantness and High Activity/Excitement.” (Fahey48).

Lady Macbeth changes from choleric to melancholic throughout the play. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth reads a letter written to her discussing the prophecies given to Macbeth by the three witches. At that instant, Lady shifts from a human to a pleutonic she-bea...

... middle of paper ...

...play, and are apparent through textual evidence. Lady Macbeth starting out as a womanly brute, changes to a more guilt filled person. Macbeth transforms from a valiant noble to a crazed maniac. Macbeth’s “open book face” changes into a closed book, once Lady Macbeth tells him to act like an innocent flower, yet be the serpent under it.

“Macbeth’s ambition might suggest his inclusion in this category, but I submit that Lady Macbeth portrays the true choleric figure of the play, and the most memorable choleric female in Shakespeare… Not only does she invoke the aid of the supernatural, but she begs the spirits to transform her into a wicked, choleric villainess, which she views as her only pragmatic option to successfully secure the crown.” (Fahy28).

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and John Wilders. Macbeth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2004. Print.

More about Macbeth and the Four Temperaments

Open Document