Hamartia

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

Examples of "Hamartia" in Literature

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. Oedipus' hastiness in temper and ignorance is considered a [classic example] of hamartia in literature. To some writers, Samson's excessive adoration for his wife and Macbeth's excessive ambition would be considered the 'hamartia' to those characters but Aristotle negates that notion. Aristotle's makes the claim that the term's meaning correlates more with "mistake" rather than "flaw." The mistake made by the protagonist in the story is what leads to the tragedy of the story, not the flaw. Aristotle argues that the faux pas of the protagonist leads to their consequences in the tragedy.

References

• "Hamartia" Definition
• "Hamartia" Etymology
• Hamartia & the “Tragic Flaw” – Misinterpretations of Aristotle
• Poetics (Aristotle)

---

Literary Terms