Hamartia
One Tragic Mistake, And Everyone Dies
One Bad Idea…
• Greek culture defined hamartia as a mistake or error in judgment.
• This includes ignorant, mistaken, or accidental wrongdoing, as well as deliberate
iniquity, error, or sin.
• Biblical scholars translate the word hamartia as sin.
• It IS NOT a flaw in the character’s personality. It can be based on a personality
flaw, but the hamartia is the mistake itself, not the flaw that prompted it.
Hamartia in Drama
• True Aristotelian hamartia arises when mistakes or errors cause the plot or
direction of action to change in a tragic way.
Examples
• In the Bible, King David fell in love with a married woman named Bathsheba.
When King David decided to try and win her affections, he first moved her
husband to the front lines in battle, ensuring that he would be killed. David’s
mistake led to the loss of his son and many blessings from God.
• Also from the Bible, Samson was blessed with great strength from God, as long
as he did not cut his hair. His lover, Delilah, was paid by the Philistines, his
enemies, to find the source of his strength. When he finally revealed the truth,
Delilah’s servant shaved his hair and his strength disappeared, and Samson was
captured as a slave by the Philistines.
• Macbeth, the lead character of Shakespeare’s famous play, chooses to kill
innocent people in order to become the King of Scotland. However, this also
leads to his death at the hands of MacDuff.
• Othello, another Shakespearean character, at first refuses to believe his best
friend Iago, who insists that his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful. By the end of the
play, however, he believes in the lies, and decides to kill her in anger. Only after
does he learn of her innocence, and commit suicide.
Modern Hamartia
• In small groups, brainstorm a list of fatal character traits from modern novels or
films that lead to fatal mistakes and the destruction of characters. (Remember
to list abstract character traits, their wrong choice, and the resulting downfall!)
• Examples:
– Covetous: King David lusted after Bathsheba and used his power to have her
husband killed. This led to losing his son and God’s blessings.
– Manipulated: Samson gives in to Delilah’s pleading and reveals the source of
his strength, which she uses to betray him to the Philistines.
– Ambitious: Macbeth kills innocent people to gain power, and is killed in turn
by MacDuff.
– Insecure: Othello allows his insecurity to lead him to believe Iago’s lies, that
Desdemona is unfaithful to him. He kills her, then learns she was true.
– Dependence: Ron Burgundy always reads the teleprompter.
• Remember, true Aristotelian hamartia arises when mistakes or errors cause the
plot or direction of action to change in a tragic way, leading to the downfall of
the protagonist.
Hamartia in Antigone
• What is the tragic flaw in Antigone?
• Who commits this fatal error?
• How do you know this to be true? (Cite textual evidence.)