Hamartia: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:50, 10 February 2006

The tragic protagonist’s flaw that precipitates his/her fall from a position of good fortune to bad fortune, often associated with his/her overweening hubris, and integral to tragedy. Hamartia is a term taken from archery, meaning “falling short of the mark,” but it also suggests “sin,” “trespass,” “fault,” “mistake,” “error,” etc. Hamlet’s hamartia may be said, then, to be his uncertainty in the face of action; Oedipus’ is his arrogance and faith in his reasoning that blinds him to obvious facts; and Medea’s is her pride as a foreign princess vis-a-vis her position as an outcast in Corinth. Therefore, hamartia has much to do with the character’s disposition, or nature, when approaching his/her dilemma — a nature that he/she cannot overcome, and thus leads to the tragic outcome.

Literary Terms

Revision as of 10:27, 10 November 2004 (view source) Glucas (talk \| contribs) No edit summary ← Older edit		Revision as of 12:50, 10 February 2006 (view source) Rbeard (talk \| contribs) No edit summary Newer edit →
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The tragic [[protagonist]]’s flaw that precipitates his/her [[peripeteia \| fall]] from a position of good fortune to bad fortune, often associated with is/her overweening [[hubris]], and integral to [[tragedy]]. <i>Hamartia</i> is a term taken from archery, meaning “falling short of the mark,” but it also suggests “sin,” “trespass,” “fault,” “mistake,” “error,” etc. Hamlet’s ''hamartia'' may be said, then, to be his uncertainty in the face of action; Oedipus’ is his arrogance and faith in his reasoning that blinds him to obvious facts; and Medea’s is her pride as a foreign princess vis-a-vis her position as an outcast in Corinth. Therefore, ''hamartia'' has much to do with the character’s disposition, or nature, when approaching his/her dilemma — a nature that s/he cannot overcome, and thus leads to the tragic outcome.		The tragic [[protagonist]]’s flaw that precipitates his/her [[peripeteia \| fall]] from a position of good fortune to bad fortune, often associated with his/her overweening [[hubris]], and integral to [[tragedy]]. <i>Hamartia</i> is a term taken from archery, meaning “falling short of the mark,” but it also suggests “sin,” “trespass,” “fault,” “mistake,” “error,” etc. Hamlet’s ''hamartia'' may be said, then, to be his uncertainty in the face of action; Oedipus’ is his arrogance and faith in his reasoning that blinds him to obvious facts; and Medea’s is her pride as a foreign princess vis-a-vis her position as an outcast in Corinth. Therefore, ''hamartia'' has much to do with the character’s disposition, or nature, when approaching his/her dilemma — a nature that he/she cannot overcome, and thus leads to the tragic outcome.

	----		----