Medieval medicine identified four main humours in the human body- phlegm, choler, blood and bile. If these were not in balance or one was more dominant than another then the individual's personality was affected- phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine or melancholic. Shakespeare often uses imagery related to these four humours to describe his characters. A Shakespearean audience would have known exactly what this meant.
You can either give students a presentation where they have to take notes, or a presentation followed by a cloze exercise. Then they must research their new found knowledge using the Internet. You can divide the class into four so that each group has to research one of the humours. They should then produce a poster summing up all the information for their 'humour'. Share information.
Now diagnose the main characters in the play. Model one through a whole class activity. Then ask students to select a character to diagnose.
Discuss the way our understanding of medicine and mood has changed and discuss also what kinds of imagery Shakespeare would use if he was writing today so that learners can begin to see how Shakespeare's imagery is not something that was designed to be academic but which was designed to be immediately understood by his audience.
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