Hamartia: Difference between revisions

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. The term derives from the word, <i>hamartanein</i>, which is Greek for "fail, failure, guilt or to fail one's purpose."

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.