- Hamartia refers to a character's tragic flaw or error of judgment that ultimately leads to their downfall. It was first defined by Aristotle in Poetics to describe the mistake that causes a reversal of fortune for the protagonist. - Examples of hamartia discussed include Oedipus' pride and ignorance leading him to unknowingly kill his father and marry his mother, Hamlet's indecision causing his own destruction, and Frankenstein's hubris in creating life against nature's laws. - Hamartia is a key element of Greek tragedy that makes the characters' downfalls seem plausible and elicits pity from the audience rather than accusation, thus achieving catharsis.

1. Introduction
• Name:- Ekta Jayswal
• Class:- M.A. Sem: 1
• Roll No:- 13
• Topic:- A literary Term- "Hamartia"
• Paper No:- 3 [Literary Theory & Criticism]
• Enrolment No:- PG 2069108420180027
• Year:- 2017/19
• Email ID:-ektajayswal12@gmail.com
• Submitted to:- Dr. Dilip Barad
S.B.Gardi English Department .
M.K.B.U.

2. About Hamartia....
- The word Hamartia is over two thousand years
old.....
- Hamartia derives from the Greek word meaning- "to
miss the mark" or "to err"...
- "Hamartia" may sound strange, but it actually has a
simple meaning – It is simply the tragic flaw or fatal
flaw of a character in literature or film.
-It was first used by Aristotle in the Poetics, in tragedy...

3. * Aristotle argues that it
is a powerful device to
have a story begin with a
rich and powerful
hero,who then falls into
misfortune by a mistake
or error...
*Aristotle claimed that the
Hamartia must bring
about the reversal of
fortune for the tragic hero,
and that this hero must be
neither completely good
nor completely bad so
that the audience can
identify with the
character’s plight.

4. What's the Function of Hamartia in
Literature?
• In literature, drama, and film, hamartia is what
creates tragic heroes. Further, it can lead to a
critical discovery on the hero's part, and works
to create complicated and relatable characters.....
• Hamartia is used in tragic literature to propel the
plot, deepen character and make thought -
provoking stories....

6. Hamartia Puts the "Tragic" in Tragic
Hero
• Hamartia is the ingredient that makes tragic heroes
tragic....
• When defining tragedy in Poetics, Aristotle claimed
that tragedy involves a reversal of fortune—
specifically, misfortune brought about not by
external causes, but by the protagonist's own flaw
or error.

7. Examples in
Literature
* Hamartia in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex*
- In Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, the
protagonist Oedipus is an archetypal tragic
hero: a Greek King.....
- In The King Oedipus, a tragic situation
possible when Mistaken identity allows
Oedipus to kill his father Laius on the road
to Thebes and subsequently to marry
Jocasta, his mother; only later does he
recognize his tragic error.
- it leads his mother/wife commit suicide
and Oedipus to blind himself...
- However, because he commits the crime in
ignorance and pays for it with remorse, self-
mutilation, and exile, the plot reaches
resolution or catharsis, and we pity him as a
victim of ironic fate instead of accusing him
of blood guilt.
- It was tragic flow of Oedipus..

8. In Shakespeare's
Hamlet....
- Hamlet, suffers from the
tragic flaw of indecision. He
hesitates to kill his cruel and
villainous uncle, which leads
to the ultimate tragedy of the
play. By struggling with an
inherent moral flaw, Hamlet
brings about his own
destruction. His hesitation,
therefore, is the action to
which the term hamartia is
applied.

9. In Mary Shelly's
Frankenstein.....
- In the classical novel Frankenstein,
the protagonist succeed in his life
and he usurping the role of god and
nature..
- Victor's hubris at believing himself
capable of a godlike act..
-Victor's overwhelming ambition and
urge to make revolutionary
contribution to science,but
ultimately doom him to be a victim
of that same ambition. .
-His own creation rebel aginst him
and his failure to take responsibility
for the monster he created...

10. *** To Wind Up...
- This lack or deprivation is sin (hamartia)...
- That is to say, the failure to attain and the
falling away from what is fitting.
- By sin it means, to take a metaphor from
archery, the shot that misses the mark instead
of hitting the target.