On Thursday, Sept. 26 the staff from Creighton’s three campus libraries presented a panel discussion concerning the relationship between the age-old practice of humorism and its necessity in understanding Shakespeare’s timeless characters.

“The humoral theory of medicine is over 2,000 years old,” Richard O’Brien said, “It was practiced according to a theory that was originated by Hippocrates in 400 B.C.”

The belief was that each of the four humors represented quantities of particular bodily fluids.  Each of these four fluids have representative qualities that are not only indicative of personality traits or temperaments, but also mental and physical diseases.

“Optimally, if you were in perfect health, the humors were in perfect balance.  Hardly anyone is like that,” O’Brien said.

The four humors recognized by the Hippocratic theory included yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm.

Any surge or deficit of one of the four humors determined the kind of disease or ailment for which a physician would diagnose a patient.  Unfortunately, the methods used to gain an “accurate” measurement of a particular humor yielded often catastrophic effects.

“These treatments did a hell of a lot more harm than good, although they were very well intended.”  O’Brien said.

While the practicality of such methods wore off many years ago, an understanding of the overall concept can provide contextual meaning to Shakespeare’s plays for actors and audience members alike.

“There is no substitute for a live experience of shakespeare,” said Dr. Kathy Rettig, Creighton English professor, “if the four humors are actable they can provide a modern audience with an insight into renaissance life.”

Rettig explained that some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays feature characters that undergo a notable change in his or her respective humor, often as a result of choice of food.  These changes become the focal points of dialogue and attention from other characters.

Performing Arts professor Michael McCandless hopes to display a healthy interpretation of the four humors in his direction of the coming Creighton performances of Much Ado About Nothing.

“If you read the plays of Shakespeare with the humors in mind, it will enrich the already timeless characterizations,” McCandless said.

McCandless hopes to maintain a close relationship with the original text in order to offer audience members a good opportunity to take notice of the humorism that affects each character.  However, he has also given in to the attraction of experimenting with certain aspects of the script.

“We are taking a risk setting the play in the 1950s,” McCandless said.  “I got the sense from this play, that these characters were just simple teenagers. “

The Creighton Libraries’ “And There’s the Humor of It” is a traveling exhibit that is featured in the Browsing Area of the Health Sciences Library until Oct. 4th and in the lobby of the Reinert Alumni Library from Oct. 4th until the 26th.