C O N C E P T O F A T R A G I C H E R O

‘ H A M A R T I A ’

Aristotle’s Poetics

Aristotle has coined many terms that has remained undefined or has given rise to a great deal of controversy in the course of the history. His one such term is „Hamartia‟, defining which „The American Heritage Dictionary‟ states,

“ Hamartia is an error or a mistake that a tragic character does which becomes at the end the

cause of his own downfall”

Hamartia a Tragic Flaw or an Error

Hamartia according to A.C. Bradley is a ‘Tragic Flaw’

However the meaning is not complete unto itself and is opposed by several other literary scholars.

Hamartia so far as Humphrey House is concerned is an Error or the Missing of a Mark

The meaning is closer to what Aristotle writes about Tragic Hero in his ‘Poetics’

Tragic Hero According to Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller in his Essay on Tragedy and Common Man twits,

“ There is no tragic hero in modern literature. The concept itself is as old as Aristotle. The modern man

is a person who is ready to lay down his life to achieve something what in general may be called his

personal dignity.”