Shakespeare, self-proclaimed poet and renowned playwright, lived in the Renaissance age. More specifically, in the time when the Tudor family ruled England, in these times, there were deeply rooted religious cleansings and constant witch hunts, seeking out anyone and everyone who did not follow suit. Shakespeare (1564-1616 AD) was born and lived during the medical renaissance, which was the point between 1400 and 1700 AD that innovated medicines used in Europe. These treatments were then spread throughout the world. The most typical consensus expressed by medical technicians of the time believed that the body was kept in balance by bodily humors (liquids), although during the mid-1500s new treatment methods were introduced through experimentation, however, despite these advances made by the richer the population, the more the poor continued to receive traditional treatment. During the Elizabethan age, it was widely accepted that a person's temperament was decided by the state of his humours, which were sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. This belief in the humors originates in the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and medical foundations that were reinforced by the philosophers Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, among others. Each of these humors also refers to a substance of the body and a corresponding element, respectively blood and air, yellow bile and fire, phlegm and water, black bile and earth. Furthermore, these substances and moods responded to specific environments related to them. In short, the whole process breaks down like this: The sanguine manifests itself in the blood and the air element and is maintained by warm, moist conditions. Cholera has been identified with yellow bile and e...... middle of paper ......chaucer/coursematerials/humours.html>.Mowrey, Daniel B. The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine. New Canaan, CT: Keats Pub., 1986. Print."No. 767: Medicine in New France." University of Houston. Network. 17 February 2012. .Penrose, Jane. An encyclopedia of Tudor medicine: [great book]. Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1998. Print."Medicine of the 16th Century." An encyclopedia of world history. Network. 18 February 2012. "Temperament: a brief survey, with modern applications" Temperament: a brief survey, with modern applications. Network. February 23, 2012. "Tudor Medicine." Site for learning history. Network. February 18, 2012. "Tudor Medicine." Tudor. Network. January 25. 2012. .