Words

Friday,
September 19, 2008

10:33 AM

Pasted
from <http://mrmullen.pbwiki.com/Literary-Terms>

HAMARTIA: A term from Greek tragedy that literally means
"missing the mark." Originally applied to an archer who misses the
target, a hamartia came to signify a tragic flaw, especially a misperception,
a lack of some important insight, or some blindness that ironically results
from one's own strengths and abilities. In Greek tragedy, the protagonist
frequently possesses some sort of hamartia that causes catastrophic
results after he fails to recognize some fact or truth that could have saved
him if he recognized it earlier. The idea of hamartia is often ironic;
it frequently implies the very trait that makes the individual noteworthy is
what ultimately causes the protagonist's decline into disaster. For instance,
for the character of Macbeth, the same ambition that makes him so admired is
the trait that also allows Lady Macbeth to lure him to murder and treason.
Similarly, what ennobles Brutus is his unstinting love of the Roman Republic,
but this same patriotism causes him to kill his best friend, Julius Caesar.
These normally positive traits of self-motivation and patriotism caused the two
protagonists to "miss the mark" and realize too late the ethical and
spiritual consequences of their actions. See also hubris.

Pasted