Measure for Measure: Head Heart Gut Groin

For our initial rehearsal, we began some character work based on the four main areas of the body, these being the head, heart, gut and groin. Each of these four areas have many traits or characteristics associated with them.

• The Head: often associated with intellect and the brain, a character who is thoughtful, intelligent or quick-witted and curious may manifest itself in the head. This can pull the head in front of the body, making them seem nosy or interested in the world, or it may pull them up taler, making them seem self-important.
• The Heart: situated in the chest, the heart is often regarded as the centre of the body and the home of the soul, particularly in Elizabethan medical beliefs. It is associated with compassion, love, and the ability to be emotionally connected. A maternal or bold character may lead with the heart. Leading with the chest also creates a primal, dominant shape that can exert power.
• The Gut: used to digest food primarily, the gut is associated with gluttony and greed, as well as bravery and stoicism. A character that leads with the gut may seem fat or comfortable, as it contorts the body into a slumped position with terrible posture
• The Groin: the house of the sexual organs is quite obviously associated with feelings of sexuality and animalism. Often the most villainous characters lead from the groin, connoting dirty minds and bodies that are motivated by the simple pleasures of life.

It is interesting to look at how most of these four humours can portray characters of both the good and evil persuasions, and that there is a full range of characters that can be built by combining certain elements of the four areas.

When creating my character, I found these four ares worked as a great basis for the simple developments I had in mind. For the Duke, I decided that he lead with a combination of the head and the heart, this is because I feel he is conflicted between his moral compass and his desire to appear a powerful leader to the people of Vienchester. I felt that, when disguised, his head became more prominent as he had to worry less about his bold persona. This is quite possibly the reason he decides to carry out his plan to go into hiding in the first place.