Name:- sejal
r parmar
Course:-
M.A sem-1
Batch:-
2018/20
Enrollment
no:- 2069108420190033
Paper no:-3
Literary Theory and Criticism
Topic:-
Hamartia
Submitted
by:-MKBU Department of English
Hamartia
Hamartia
article is about classical Greek term. For the medical term, see Hamartia (
medical term ). For the album by November doom, see Hamartia ( album ).
“Tragic
flaw” redirects here. For the wider concept, see tragedy. The term Hamartia
derives from the Greek, from Hamartanein, which means “to miss the mark” or “to
err”. It is most often associated with Greek tragedy, although it is used in
Christian theology.
Hamartia as
it pertains to dramatic literature was first used by Aristotle in his poetics.
In tragedy, Hamartia is commonly understood to refer to the protagonist’s error
or tragic flaw that leads to a chain of plot actions culminating in a reversal
of their good fortune to bad.
What
qualifies as the error or flaw can include an error resulting from ignorance,
an error of judgment, a flaw in character, or a wrongdoing. The spectrum of
meaning has invited debate among critics and scholars and different
interpretations among dramatists.
Literary
devices
Definition
and example of literary terms
Hamartia
definition
Hamartia is
a personal error in a protagonist’s personality, which brings about his tragic
downfall in a tragedy . this defect in a hero’s personality is also known as s
“tragic flaw.”
Aristotle
used the word in his poetics, where it is taken as a mistake error in judgment.
The term envelops wrongdoing, which may
be accidental or deliberate. One of the classic Hamartia examples is where a
hero wants to achieve something but ,while doing so, he commits an intentional
or accidental error, and he ends up achieving exactly the opposite with
disastrous results. Such a downfall is often marked by a reversal of fortune.
Hamartia is the fatal flaw in a protagonist or hero that leads to this character’s
downfall. Aristotle first used the term Hamartia in his essay poetics, the
first known treatise on literary theory. Aristotle described the function of
Hamartia in Greek tragedy as that aspect
of the protagonist, or perhaps an errors that the protagonist makes, that sets
into motion a chain of unavoidable events change the protagonist’s fortune from
good to bad. The Hamartia can be anything from an error in judgment to an
errors made out of ignorance to a character flaw to a sin. The definition of Hamartia
can also be expanded to refer to something that at first seems like the best
part of a character, but which , in excess, leads to the flaw. We will see
examples of this with Oedipus Rex and Romeo Juliet. The word Hamartia comes from
the Greek word Hamartanein which means “ to fail one’s purpose” or “to err,”
originally, “to miss the mark.”
Hamartia
and hubris
a typical
example of Hamartia in tragedies is hubris, which is excessive pride and ego in
a hero’s character. This often ultimately brings about his tragic downfall. In
Greek tragedies, the hubristic actions of a hero in a powerful position causes
his shame and humiliation.
Examples
of Hamartia in literature
Example # 1: Oedipus ( by Sophocles )
Oedipus, a
famous Greek tragedy , is a perfect example of Hamartia, in which the primary
character’s downfall is caused by unintentional wrongdoings. His hubris leads
him to defy the prophecy gods, but he ends up doing what he feared the
most.
In the
story, the oracle of Delphi told Oedipus that he would kill his father and
marry his mother. To avoid this, he leaves the city of Corinth, and heads towards
Thebes. On his way, he killed an old man in a feud. Later, he married the queen of Thebes when he was
made king of the city, after he saved the city from a deadly sphinx. He
committed all these sins in complete ignorance, but he deserved punishment
because of attempting to rebel against his fate. His reversal of fortune is
caused by his actions, which are in a sense blasphemous.
Example # 2:
hamlet ( by William Shakespeare )
Prince
hamlet’s tragic flaw, in Shakespeare’s play hamlet , determines his tragic
downfall. Hamlet’s Hamartia is his indecisiveness. He cannot make up his mind
about the dilemmas he confronts. He reveals his state of mind in the following lines from act 3, scene a of the play :
“ to be , or
not to be – that is the question:
Whether ‘tis
nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings
and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take
arms against a sea of troubles
And by
opposing end them. To die, to sleep …”
Hamlet wants
to kill his father’s murderer ,Claudius, but instead ruins his life by delaying
action, as he looks for proof to justify the act. In the process, he spoils his
relationship with his mother, and sends Ophelia into such a state of depression
that she commits suicide. This indecision got almost everyone killed at the end
of the play. He killed Claudius by assuming fake madness because of his
indecisiveness in action so that he will not be asked for any justification.
Example # 3
:doctor Faustus ( by Christopher Marlowe)
Among the
Hamartia example in literature, one of the best can be found in Christopher Marlowe’s doctor Faustus. The
tragic flaw of Faustus was his ambitions nature. despite being a respected
scholar, he sold his soul to Lucifer by singing a contract, with his blood ,
for achieving ultimate power and limitless pleasure in this world.
He learns
the art of black magic and defiies Christianity. We see a tragic conflict where
Faustus thinks about repenting, but it is all
too late. Finally, the devils takes his soul away to hell and he suffers
eternal damnation because of over – ambition.
Example # 4
: Frankenstein ( by Mary Shelley )
Victor, in
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein , is another character whose downfall is caused
by a tragic error. His hubris, or extreme pride and arrogance, decides his fate
in the narrative. He strives to become unparalleled scientist, and creates a
monster that ultimately becomes the cause of
his disaster.
Function
of Hamartia
Hamartia imparts
a sense of pity and fear in the audience, or the readers. The audience
identifies with the tragic hero as, like them, his character is a mixture of
good and bad qualities. They feel pity for the reversal of fortune that he
undergoes. Similarly, by witnessing a tragic hero suffer due to his own flaw,
the audience or the readers may fear the same fate could behalf they if they
indulge in similar kinds of action.
Therefore,
Hamartia may be employed for a moral purpose, to encourage people to improve their
characters by removing the fleas that
can cause a tragedy in their lives.
Common
examples of Hamartia
The concept
of Hamartia is familiar in regular life, as the downfall of national and international heroes comes to
light. Many politicians and sports stars especially are susceptible to this kind of downfall , as people put so much
hope in them and thus their descents are all the more public, and dramatic .
Significance
of Hamartia in literature
While
Hamartia was first applied to characters in greek tragedies , it is relevant to
and present in famous characters throughout the history of literature . most
writing teacher advise that a hero with no flaws is, actually , quire a boring
character and unworthy of being written about . it is indeed more difficult for
the reader to relate to a protagonist with no flaws, because that simply isn’t
realistic or common in ordinary life. The presence of a flaw of error in the
main character makes the fate of that character unavoidable, but also that much
more tragic. When the character cannot blame anyone outside outside of him – or
herself, we as the audience feel much more pity and the process of catharsis
can proceed.
Example :- 1
Oedipus :
blind,
Lost in the
night, endless night that nursed you!
You can’t
hurt me or anyone else who sees the light –
You can
never touch me.
Tiresias
: true, it it not your fate to fall at
my hands. Apollo is quite enough,
And he will
take some pains to work this out.
Oedipus:
creon ! is this conspiracy his or yours?
Tiresias: creon
is not your downfall, no, you are your own.
Oedipus the
king is one of the primary character that come to mind when taking about
hamartia examples. Oedipus a expresses acertain hubris about his own
intelligence and decision – making that
,taken too far, lead to his downfall. Oedipus was made a fatel mistake in his
understanding of vital information – he kill own father and marries his mother
out of ignorance. He has set a curse on
the man who kills his father, nt knowing that it is who has done so. The blind
prophet, tiresias, makes Oedipus aware
of his tragic error and asserts that it is Oedipus himself who leads to
his own downfall .
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