Asian Journal of
Multidisciplinary Studies
ISSN: 2321-8819 (Online)
2348-7186 (Print)
Impact Factor: 0.92
Volume 3, Issue 7, July 2015
Humour as a Mirror of Society:
A Comparative Study between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
Mahbuba Sultana
Senior Lecturer, Department of English
Manarat International University, Gulshan, Dhaka.
Abstract: Humour is a literary term which is used by a writer very carefully. Different writers use it in their
writings in different ways. This paper deals with Shakespeare and Ben Jonson’s use of humour in their
comic plays. It also discloses the similarities and dissimilarities among their ways of representing humour.
Shakespeare in his Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice uses humour in a simple way. In these plays
he uses humour in a gentle and sympathetic mode. On the other hand, Jonson in his Volpone and Every man
in His Humour uses humour in a satiric tone and his plays deal with the problems of the then England
(Elizabethan Age, 1558-1603). In this research, it is described how Shakespeare and Jonson represent
humour in their writings. Shakespeare and Jonson are two prominent writers of their age (Elizabethan).
They have used humour in their writings in different ways. Though they have used humour in different ways,
there are some similarities among them. While Ben Jonson’s major characters possess different types of
humour, Shakespeare’s minor characters possess mirth, wit and his major characters possess wit. Research
is going to exhibit the similarities and the dissimilarities between Shakespeare and Jonson in their methods
of representing humour.
Keywords: Humour, Satire, Comic plays.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Literature is an art and through this art one
can show the conditions of one‟s society. For an
artistic beauty a writer uses different tools as his
weapon in his writings and humour is one of them.
Through humour a writer can reach readers. When
one uses it in his writing, the main intension is not
only to amuse us but also to teach us good lessons.
Humour is the ability or quality of people, objects
or situations to evoke feelings of amusement in
other people.
person‟s demeanor. He believes that it is
impossible to rid a man of his particular humour by
means of mockery. Shakespeare seems to have
taken a special delight in its employment. His
tragedies never fail of having their comic
interludes; his comedies have, in nearly every case,
a serious thread, and sometimes a background with
a tragic outlook. Here Research is going to unfold
the similarities and dissimilarities of these two
authors in their ways of using humour.
2.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
According to Horace Walpole, “Humour is a
way of saying something serious”. T. S. Eliot says
that “Comedy is simply a funny way of being
serious.” Peter Ustinov says, “Tragedy is when I
cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into a
sewer and die.”1 If we consider the above
definitions of the term „humour‟ we can say that
humour is a serious thing which is used by a writer
very nicely and cautiously.
The mottos of my study are:
In this study, it is going to compare the use of
humour between Shakespeare and Ben Jonson and
deal with two comedies of Shakespeare (Twelfth
Night and The Merchant of Venice) and two
comedies of Ben Jonson (Every Man in His
Humour and Volpone). Jonson uses humour in the
sense of some individual habit dominating a person
or some individual mannerism governing a
3.
1
Humour, Literacy and Literature. ASLA NSW,
2006. Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/humour
a.
To show how Shakespeare and Ben
Jonson use humour in their writings.
b. To exhibit the resemblances and the
dissimilarities between Shakespeare and
Jonson in their ways of representing
humour.
c. To explore how humour has become an
indispensable part of their comic plays.
METHODOLOGY
This study is followed the method of descriptive
analysis. It describes how Shakespeare and Jonson
represent humour in their writings. After
developing an appropriate topic, organizational
patterns have been chosen for this study. Then an
idea sheet is developed that would further refine
the starting topic. After collecting books and
information I begin to think about organizing it and
putting it in written form. This study has been
depended upon facts, ideas and opinions gathered
in the course of this research. That is why footnotes
Available online at www.ajms.co.in
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Humour as a Mirror of Society:a Comparative Study Between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
have been given at the bottom of the page. The
sources which have been used are as follows:
a.
4.
Primary sources: Twelfth Night, The
Merchant of Venice by William
Shakespeare and Volpone, Every Man
in His Humour by Ben Jonson.
b. Secondary sources: How to Write a
Research Paper by Phyllis Cash, W.
R. Owens, Brodies Notes on Ben
Jonson‟s Volpone, Macmillan Master
Guides on The Merchant of Venice,
York Notes for GCSE Twelfth Night,
and internet sources.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Comedy in simple terms means that the play ends
cheerfully for the protagonists. Jonson‟s comedies
are known as classical comedies and Shakespeare‟s
comedies are known as romantic comedies.
Classical comedy pursues the rule of dramatic
sonata as laid down by ancient Greek and Roman
masters. Classical comedy laughs at people and not
with them. One of the best known promoters of
classical comedy in England is Ben Jonson. Jonson
is known to us as a satirist who feels no sympathy
for the people of his time. Jonson‟s Every Man in
His Humour belongs to the subgenre of the
humours comedy, in which each major character is
dominated by an overriding humour or obsession.
The characters in this play are based on the four
humours of medieval physiology, bodily fluids that
were held to influence personality or temperament.
R.S. Knox says in his “Essay on Every
Man in His Humour”, “It has been said that
Jonson‟s chief aim in his comedies is the satirical
portraiture of character. In a secondary way, it is a
comedy of intrigue as well as a comedy of
character.”
“Volpone is a comedy play by Ben Jonson
drawing on elements of city comedy and beast
fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it is
ranked among the finest Jacobean Era comedies,”
says James D. Redwine in his “Volpone‟s sport and
the structure of Jonson‟s Volpone”
In the type of romantic comedy the rules of
classical comedy are flouted. Shakespeare basically
wrote romantic comedies. He mingled the comic
and the tragic, the serious and the happy. This
made his plays appear more pragmatic. His prime
concern is innocent and good natured laughter.
Ben Jonson called “Shakespeare not of an
age, but of ages”. To him Shakespeare was also the
core of the age. His drama is a mirror of his time.
His plays are replete with topical allusions
references to contemporary events. William
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will is
a comedy about a cross-dressing, ship-wreck
surviving, poetry-loving girl who finds herself at
the center of a not-so-average love triangle. “In
Twelfth Night, everyone is a fool except for the
Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(7) July, 2015
fool. Viola fools others by dressing up as a man.
Sir Toby fools Malvolio.
The lovers fool
themselves by pursuing characters who are not
interested in them.” 2
Written by William Shakespeare around
1597, The Merchant of Venice is a "comedy" about
a bitter and detested Jewish moneylender (Shylock)
who seeks revenge against a Christian merchant
who has defaulted on a loan. The term „humour‟ is
a wider one in its scope than the word „wit‟. Wit
involves the use of words, and it has an intellectual
quality. The term „humour‟ includes wit and wit is
a specialized form of humour. Irony may be used
for comic purposes. Comic irony may be found in
words and remarks, and also in situations. All these
kinds of humour and wit are to be found in The
Merchant of Venice.
5.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
ANALYSIS
It is already mentioned that this research is
going to deal with two comedies of Shakespeare
and two comedies of Ben Jonson. In order to find
out the similarities and dissimilarities in the use of
humour in their plays, research is going to discuss
about these plays.
Every Man in His Humour:
In the prologue of this play Jonson says that this
play deals with human follies not with crimes. He
uses hilarious incidents not only to amuse us but
also to correct the then people.
Our life is full of cares and anxieties. Jonson uses
anxiety as Knowell‟s humour. He is ridiculed by
Jonson for his needless anxiety. He is anxious for
his son, Edward who has an ardent feeling for
poetry. He regards poetry as a futile and
unbeneficial art:
“Dreaming --------------------------art,”
(Every Man in His Humour. 1, 1, 20-21)
Jealousy is an attractive part of Jonson‟s use of
humour. All the couples of this play possess the
humour and jealousy. Merchant Kiteley is married
to a stunning woman and his humour is jealousy.
He thinks that one of the companies of his brother
in law, Wellbred may seduce his wife. He thinks
that his wife has already cuckolded him:
“She‟s-----------------------favour,”
(Every Man in His Humour. 4, 8, 174-175)
On the other hand, Dame Kiteley is not also free
from jealousy. When Wellbred says to her that her
husband pays frequent visits to the house of Cob
whose wife is a wanton woman, she becomes
suspicious of her husband‟s activities. Cob also
feels jealous of his wife, Tib. When Dame Kiteley
2
Available at: L.F, Don and Pace Nilsen, Alleen.
“Shakespeare‟s Humor, Irony, and Language Play”
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Humour as a Mirror of Society:a Comparative Study Between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
tells him that his wife is a wanton lady, he believes
her and begins to beat his wife.
Brainworm, servant of Mr. Knowell disguises
himself like a soldier and he wants to stop Knowell
from spying on the activities of Edward. Disguised
as a city sergeant, Brainworm again appears before
Bobadill, Mattew and tells them that he has come
at the request of Clement‟s clerk to serve a warrant
upon Downright.
Brainworm is not only a prankster with an
inventive brain, but also a witty man with a great
sense of humour. Early in the play, he shows his
wit by poking fun at Stephen and tells Stephen that
he has a very good leg, but that woolen stockings
do not become his legs:
“You have an excellent --------------for it.”
(Every Man in His Humour. 1, 3, 55-58)
He says to Stephen that melancholy is an excellent
humour and it breeds perfect wit. He again says
that he often feels melancholy and in his
melancholy moods he begins to write verses.
Actually all his claims to be poet are false.
The real interest of this play lies in the humour
which is depicted in this play. It is a brisk comedy
of character. It deals with human follies not with
crimes. Jonson‟s moral and didactic purpose as a
comic dramatist was to scourge the follies of his
time.
Volpone:
Volpone is Jonson‟s one of the most popular plays,
where „humour‟ was just the sort of structure on
which to build character. In Volpone, Jonson hits
upon a similar scheme, reaching back into the
middle ages for a “beast fable” and classifying his
characters as birds or beasts. So, Volpone is a fox;
Mosca, a fly; Voltore, a vulture; Corbaccio, a
raven; Corvino, a crow; Sir Politic Would-be, a
parrot; Peregrine, a falcon , and so forth.
His characters are human in shape, but beast in
their behavior. The exotic city of Venice is a place
of greed, lust, and corruption, where gold is needed
(as Volpone says) “the world‟s soul”. There is a
warning for the city of London in Jonson‟s
magical, wicked picture of Venice.
The comedy of humour receives a new dimension
in Volpone. Instead of different oddities and
peculiarities in individuals, Jonson represents one
of the worst passions of human begins, greed in
this play. The whole story is dominated by the
passion for gold. It follows the tradition of the
classical comedy, where motifs, situations and
characters contribute to the fun in the play.
The behaviour of all the characters is determined
by greed. In order to gain the property of Volpone,
Voltore throws away his honour, Corbaccio
disinherits his son and Corvino wants to prostitute
his wife. For Volpone‟s property they sacrifice
Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(7) July, 2015
their honour. On the other hand Volpone‟s
adoration of gold in the opening line of this play
displays his greedy nature:
“Good morning---------------my saint.”
(Volpone. 1, 1, 1-2)
Volpone is a skilled actor. He puts on the
appearance of a sick old man before the legacy
hunters. We find him putting on the dress of a
commentator and teasing all the three legacy
hunters. He is also a sensualist. His desire for the
fine things of life, and his craving for the pleasures
of life are clearly noticeable in his attempt to
seduce Celia.
Frailties of human beings are satirized in this play.
The Renaissance desire for assets as a means for
high and fashionable life has spring up very
vigorously in England during Jonson‟s time. Some
ways of making money in England of the time, is
hinted by the comments of Volpone:
“I use---------------------------powder,”
(Volpone. 1, 4, 80-83)
Lawyers and physicians are satirized in this play.
Bonario says about the lawyer, Voltare:
“His soul------------------his maker.”
(Volpone. 2, 5, 12-14)
There is a subtle criticism of the court and the
judges in the play.
The physicians are also satirized in this play.
Mosca tells Corbacio why Volpone does not rely
on them. Volpone considers:
“Most---------------------------escape.”
(Volpone. 2, 3, 50-51)
The fees they charge are very high. They “flay a
man before they kill them”. Hiring a doctor is “to
hire death”. Corbaccio too agrees by telling:
“It is true,-------------------------as a judge”
(Volpone. 2, 4, 37-38)
In this play Lady Would-be is presented with the
aim of ridiculing the fashion loving and vain
English ladies of the time. Volpone says about
them:
“Of the bold-------------------encounters”
(Volpone. 4, 1, 24-25)
We find in Volpone a skillful combination of satire
and comic elements. This play is a convincing
presentation of human greed, fox-like cunning and
goatish lust. Jonson succeeded in showing how
individuals can be so possessed by their own hopes
of dominating others that they resist reason or even
common sense.
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Humour as a Mirror of Society:a Comparative Study Between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
Twelfth Night:
Twelfth Night is different from the other plays. This
is full of hilarious incidents. He represents his
women very nicely in this play. For her survival,
the beautiful lady Viola disguises herself as a
eunuch. Everyone treats her as a male and this
incident really makes us laugh. We are acquainted
about her witty speeches when she speaks with
others. She says to the captain that outwardly a
man may look attractive but inwardly he may be an
evil person:
“And-------------------------------, thee”
(Twelfth Night. 1, 3, 48-49)
In the course of Viola‟s interview with Olivia, she
shows herself to be ready witted too. When she is
asked by Olivia to state her purpose, she replies:
“It alone ----------------------, as matter.”
(Twelfth Night. 1, 4, 141-142)
Olivia does not know that Viola is a female and by
chatting with her she falls in love with Viola. She
says herself that she is afraid that her eyes are
deceiving her mind by exaggerating the qualities of
Olivia. Through her speech Shakespeare shows his
philosophy that human beings do not have any
control over their life:
“Fate, show thy force; ourselves we do not
owe.”
(Twelfth Night. 1, 5, 313)
Neither the Duke nor Olivia knows Viola‟s real
identity. It is the irony arising from this contrast
between appearance and reality which makes these
comic situations. There are other situations which
amuse us because of the irony behind them.
Cesario is mistaken for Sebastian, and Sebastian is
mistaken as Cesario by several persons.
The comedy in this play is provided chiefly by Sir
Toby, Maria, and Fabian, all of whom together in
gulling Malvolio. Maria‟s device for befooling
Mavolio and the success of that device constitute
the highlight of comedy in this play.
Adding to the humour of the comedy, Feste (dress
up as Sir Topaz) uses his humour to abuse
Malvolio who is still unaware that he is actually
talking to the clown than to the real Sir Topaz.
Feste disguises as Sir Topaz calls Malvolio a
“lunatic”, “satan” and confuses him by wittingly
making him a fool. Part of the humour that lies in
this comedy is that Maria‟s pranks are harsh and
cruel, using love and power (status of Olivia) to
attack Malvolio, steward of Olivia, who is “….sick
of self love”.
All the dimensions, mistaken identities, tricks,
pranks and jokes, were what made the play, Twelfth
Night, a classic. Shakespeare‟s use of dramatic and
situational irony is used to its full potential, and he
Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(7) July, 2015
brought in humour as a tool to keep the story
rolling smoothly.
In Twelfth Night, the fools are the ones that control
the comedy and humour in the play. Feste, Maria
and Sir Toby are the fools that make the comedy
work in many senses. They create the confusion
through humour and it all works out in the end to
make William Shakespeare‟s Twelfth Night a really
funny Elizabethan play.
The Merchant of Venice:
Shakespeare‟s early comedies were classical in
spirit but the later ones were more emotional,
fanciful and humourous. The Merchant of Venice
falls between these two categories. The various
characteristics of „Romantic Comedies‟ are present
in The Merchant of Venice. The leading themes of
most of these plays were love and friendship. The
love of friendship seems to dictate most of
Antonio‟s actions. He signs the Flesh Bond and it
can be seen as the ultimate gesture that he can
make for the sake of friendship. There seem to be
several levels of friendship represented throughout
the play. The friendship of Bassanio and Antonio is
contrasted with that of Shylock and Tubal.
Different kinds of love are also presented in The
Merchant of Venice. The love of a father for a
daughter and here again there is a contrast in the
way The Lord of Belmont displays his love (though
indirectly) for Portia and later on in the play the
way Shylock behaves with Jessica. His possessive
nature is shown and one wonders what hurt him
more, Jessica‟s elopement or the loss of his money
when he chants:
“My daughter! O my Daughter! O my Daughter!
My ducats and my daughter!”
There is also the use of disguise and music in
Romantic comedies. Disguise was used to generate
humour. Here Portia and Nerissa disguise
themselves and it is also a form of dramatic irony.
The hero of the Flesh Bond story is rescued by the
heroine of the Casket story who was in the first
place the reason that the flesh bond was signed.
However there are certain differences in The
Merchant of Venice and the other „Romantic‟
comedies of Shakespeare. Firstly, love is not the
only dominant interest of the play unlike as it is in
Twelfth Night. The play could easily be one that is
dealing with issues of Jewry and usury that were
very contemporary.
Portia is a lady with a cheerful and optimistic
disposition. She has a strong sense of humour and a
sparkling, scintillating wit which she shows in this
play. Her comment on her English suitor is
amusing. She says to Nerissa that it is a good
divine who follows his own instruction. She has a
vast knowledge of human nature. She says that a
good deed shines in a naughty world just as a
candle shines in the darkness of the night. In
disguise of a judge in the court Portia utters a
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Humour as a Mirror of Society:a Comparative Study Between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
valuable speech regarding one of the greatest
virtues of human beings mercy:
c.
“The quality ------------------better than his
crown.”
(The Merchant of Venice. 4, 1, 180-185)
According to Portia, mercy is a twofold blessing. It
is a blessing to him who shows mercy; and it is a
blessing to him who receives mercy.
There is irony in the situation in which Portia
appears in the court in disguise of a man wearing a
lawyer‟s clothes. We the audiences know that the
judge is a woman and Bassanio‟s wife, but nobody
in the court, not even Bassanio knows her real
identity. The very disguise adopted by the two
women and everybody else‟s ignorance of their real
identity give rise to comic irony which is very
amusing.
FINDINGS:
Shakespeare and Jonson are two prominent
dramatists of Elizabethan period. They offer us an
enormous compare and contrast in their ways of
using humours in their comedies. There are a lot of
differences in their methods of representing
humour in their comic plays. By going through
their comedies this study can trace the following
major similarities and dissimilarities between them:
a.
b.
In Jonson we find a skillful combination
of satire and humour. In Volpone he
satirizes the then English people. Through
the greedy nature of most of the characters
in this play he actually upholds the
disposition of the then people. In Every
Man in His Humour, he deals with human
follies not with crimes. In this play he uses
humour in the sense of some individual
habit dominating a person, or some
individual affectation governing a
person‟s conduct. Most of the major
characters‟ humour is jealousy. On the
other hand, Shakespeare in his Twelfth
Night and The Merchant of Venice does
not use satire as his tool. His characters
and incidents are from everyday life, and
characterization is realistic. His comedy is
a story of love which culminates in
marriage generally his characters fall in
love at first sight Thus his comedy is
romantic, poetic and imaginative, but is
not fanciful and unrealistic.
Disguise plays an important role in
Shakespeare‟s comedies. In Twelfth Night
Viola‟s disguise affects all the other
characters and the whole play. In The
Merchant of Venice we see that Portia is
able to save the life of Antonio in disguise
of the judge. On the other hand in
Jonson‟s Volpone and Every Man in His
Humour, disguise plays a little role.
Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(7) July, 2015
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
Shakespeare‟s women characters are
praised for their beauty and wits. In
Jonson we find women in both qualitiesgood and evil. In Volpone Celia is
portrayed as a virtuous lady and Lady
Would-be is presented as talkative, vain,
conceited, a little greedy and jealous as
well.
Through the witty speeches of different
characters Shakespeare upholds his own
philosophy. Viola, Olivia in Twelfth
Night, and Portia in The Merchant of
Venice are noteworthy for their witty
speeches. On the other hand, Jonson who
deals with human follies, finds a little
interest in using wit in his comedies
especially in his women characters.
While Shakespeare feels pity for his
characters, Jonson ridicules his characters.
Music and dance are important
characteristics of Shakespeare‟s comedies.
His comedies end with music, dance, and
merry-making. On the other hand Jonson
has an ardent feeling for poetry.
While Jonson deals with the dark sides of
human beings, Shakespeare highlights on
the good sides of human beings. That is
why Jonson is more satirical than
Shakespeare.
The fool is one of the greatest creations of
Shakespeare. He has an all pervasive sprit
of mirth. The fool not only contributes to
the fun and humour of his plays but also
provides a link between the main and the
sub plots. He provides a running
commentary on the action as well as the
characters of the play. He serves many
purposes. Shakespeare‟s fools are
remarkable for their witty speeches.
Actually he has shown his love for the
fools. On the other hand Jonson shows no
sympathy for the fools and he ridicules
them. In Volpone, he represents the fools
as deformed figures. In Every Man in His
Humour, we see that he feels detest for the
fool Stephen.
Jonson‟s method is quite different from
Shakespeare‟s. He does not start with a
story and build up his characterization
from the story. He starts with his
characters and devises a plot to suit and
exhibit them.
Jonson‟s comedy is in strong contrast with
that of Shakespeare. He fought against the
romantic tendency of his age and to
restore the classic standards. His comedies
are intensely realistic, presenting men and
women of his time exactly as they were.
Shakespeare‟s characters are gentle, kind,
merry and funny. The world of
Shakespearean comedy is an extremely
safe place for women. Regarding his
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Humour as a Mirror of Society:a Comparative Study Between William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson
heroines Ruskin says that he has only
heroines and no heroes.
On the whole we can say that Jonson is a satirist
while Shakespeare is a poetic and comic
playwright.
6.
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS
&
Different writers use humour in their writings
in different ways. Their ways may be different but
there is a common intention in them and it is to
reach the readers. That is why a writer is very
careful about his ways of representing humour. It
would be a great mistake if one considers humour
as a cheap component. If we consider the comedies
of Shakespeare, we find that outwardly his
7.
comedies are full of mirth and laughter but
inwardly his comedies are full of wit and rich
philosophy. On the other hand Jonson‟s comedies
are satiric in tone because through his comedies he
not only amuses the audiences but also represents
the people of his time as they were. He wants to
restore the society. While Shakespeare has an
ardent feeling for the good sides of human beings,
Jonson has an ardent feeling to deal with the dark
sides of human beings. Actually laughter and mirth
are the indispensable part of their comedies. On the
whole we can say that humour is a solemn thing
and it is a good instrument for a writer for his
writing.
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