A
Hamartia is a literary term from ancient Greek tragedy that refers to a tragic flaw or error in judgment that leads to the downfall of the protagonist.
Key Points:
-
🔹 Origin: Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία), meaning "to miss the mark."
-
🔹 Popularized by Aristotle in his work Poetics.
-
🔹 It's not always a character flaw (like pride or ambition)—sometimes it's a mistake, ignorance, or poor decision.
-
🔹 It often triggers the chain of events in a tragedy that leads to suffering or catastrophe.
Examples:
-
Oedipus: His hamartia is hubris and ignorance—trying to escape fate but unwittingly fulfilling it.
-
Macbeth: His ambition and moral weakness drive him to murder and ruin.
-
Hamlet: His indecisiveness and overthinking lead to chaos and death.
In simple terms:
Hamartia is the small crack in a great character that brings everything crashing down.
Would you like a list of famous tragic heroes and their hamartias?
No comments:
Post a Comment