Othello as Victim of Hamartia By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that "tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves

The Role of Hamartia in Oedipus the King Literary tragedy has roots that extend two and a half millennia into the past, but throughout this history the genre's defining characteristics have remained the same. At the very core of tragedy lies an uncertainty over the cause of the tragic predicament. The leading candidate for an explanation of this cause often comes under the name of hamartia, a Greek word that translates into "a defect in character", "an error" or "a mistake." However, the most

Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is impeded by a distinguishable characteristic or character trait which leads to his ultimate demise. This trait is known as hamartia, or the "tragic flaw." This characteristic is said to not only lead to the hero's demise but may also enable the reader to sympathize with the character. So it follows that in Oedipus the King, a Greek tragedy, the tragic hero Oedipus should have some sort of flaw. However, after close examination

Many would argue that the true protagonist of the drama “Antigone,” written by Sophocles, is Creon. Though Antigone kills her self in this drama, I would oppose and say Antigone is both a protagonist and an antagonist, and that Creon is also plays both roles. Both Creon and Antigone play big roles in this drama, as well as the theme “Gods law vs. Creon’s law.” Antigone has a lot of loyalty towards the gods, and does not care about “Creon’s Law.” In this case, god’s law represents Antigone’s viewpoint

misfortune, but rather through some flaw [hamartia]". The character should be famous or prosperous, like Oedipus or Medea. What Aristotle meant by hamartia cannot be established. In each play we read you should particularly consider the following possibilities. (1) A hamartia may be simply an intellectual mistake or an error in judgement. For example when a character has the facts wrong or doesn't know when to stop trying to get dangerous information. (2) Hamartia may be a moral weakness, especially hubris

As previously mentioned, the change of fortune should not necessarily be a result of wickedness but of a Hamartia. With this definition one might rule out Creon as a tragic hero by unsympathetically saying that he is pure evil and that he deserves every drop of suffering he receives. However, one could argue that Creon’s actions were not due to his wickedness

greatness.  Macbeth is known to be noble, yet he falters and ultimately falls prey to his conscience.  As a result, Macbeth is the tragic hero of this play because he makes a fatal mistake, he endures great suffering, and he possesses a destructive hamartia. As aforementioned Macbeth's first characteristic of the tragic hero is that he makes a fatal mistake. Macbeth's fatal mistake is that he listens to others too much and he is particularly credulous as to what they say.  Macbeth is swayed by the

A True Tragic Hero F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy." This belief is based on the Greek definition of tragedy, a story of a person who starts in a high position in society and declines throughout the story to end up in a lesser position than where he or she started. This person is the tragic hero. The tragic hero is the character who falls from power due to both fate and a fatal flaw. Aristotle explains that the tragic hero should achieve some revelation

our play are hamartia, hubris, and catharsis. A tragic hero is a character who makes an error in judgment which ultimately leads to his or her downfall. Hamartia is the tragic flaw or error of judgment which

William Shakespeare's Hamlet fully satisfies each of these traits, making it an excellent example of a revenge tragedy. Certainly, the most critical theme in the play by far is that of revenge; it fuels the plot and story of Hamlet, reveals the hamartia of the protagonist, and is used successfully to develop some of the main characters. Anne Barton says, "As a structural and thematic center for tragedy, revenge has much to recommend it," (Barton 11) and that, "For most Elizabethan dramatists