The comedy of humours is a type of play that focuses on characters who have strong, main traits or "humours" that shape their actions and decisions. This style of comedy can be seen in the works of the ancient Greek writer Aristophanes, but it became more popular in England during the late 1500s through the plays of Ben Jonson and George Chapman. In the middle of the 1600s, this style was mixed with another type of comedy called the comedy of manners in plays from the Restoration period.

In Jonson’s play Every Man in His Humour (first performed in 1598), which helped make this style famous, the character Kitely acts based on a strong fear that his wife is unfaithful. Another character, George Downright, a country gentleman, always tries to be honest. A third character, a simple-minded man from the country who moves to the city, makes all his choices based on his wish to copy the behavior of wealthy city people.

In the introduction to his play Every Man out of His Humour (1599), Jonson explained that this style of comedy was influenced by earlier forms of comedy in common languages and also by the works of the ancient Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence. This style of comedy competed with romantic comedies, like those written by William Shakespeare. The way this comedy used satire and realistic characters led to more serious character studies, such as in Jonson’s 1610 play The Alchemist. The name "comedy of humours" comes from the old idea that bodily fluids, or "humours," influenced a person’s emotions and personality. This system allowed for detailed descriptions of different types of people.