OEDIPUS`S HAMARTIA

Oedipus`s Hamartia

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Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion3

Oedipus`s Hamartia3

Oedipus`s Determination4

Oedipus`s Pride5

Hamartia as Mistake not Flaw5

Oedipus`s Persistence in Discovery of Truth6

Conclusion6

References8

Oedipus`s Hamartia

Introduction

In the famous poem of Aristotle the great Greek philosopher, and discusses the tragedies that entails open the protagonists of a story, a poem, or a novel, and why people are so drawn to watching these protagonists suffer a horrible fate. Aristotle's revolves around three main ideas and themes. Firstly, it is the fact that the audience develops an emotional attachment towards the tragic hero. Secondly, the fear about what the hero will go through due to the tragedy. Lastly, the audiences' pity on the hero; after the occurrence of the tragedy. Moreover, Aristotle believed that the hero must not fall due to excessive wickedness but to a term that Aristotle called 'Hamartia'. The term can be defined a tragic flaw by many of the contemporary scholars. However, in broader terms the term Hamartia in Greek refers to a mistake, accident or misstep committed due to ignorance and not because of a wrongdoing, sin or error. According to this, Oedipus the main protagonist in Sophocles' work Oedipus the King, is not tragically flawed rather he just commits mistakes, or is involved in accidents that are caused due to ignorance of the character (Bremer, 1969).

Discussion

Oedipus`s Hamartia

The intricate nature of Oedipus' Hamartia, is also significant. The Greek term Hamartia, normally interpreted as tragic flaw, in fact means a mistake or misstep, rather than an tragic flaw. In Aristotle's perception, all tragic heroes have a Hamartia, but these are not innate in their characters, because then the audience will not pity the hero and would lose all the sympathy from the audience. Similarly,if the hero were to fall just on the basis of accidents and mishaps then the audience would not fear the outcome of the hero`s tragic end. In its place, the flaws in the character must greatly present the virtue of his demise, which goes a bit twisted, generally due to lack of knowledge or ignorance. By defining the idea this way, Aristotle indicates that a tragic hero must not die so the audience takes it as too distinctive or too random, but it should be imbedded deeply - with a sense of human failing or humanistic demise. Oedipus is the perfect example, since he does not know who he is and who the other characters close to him are. In addition, foresight and preemptive insight are of no remedy to Oedipus' Hamartia. Contrary to other tragic heroes, Oedipus is not responsible for his flaws. The audience is fearful of Oedipus`s demise because whatever he does could not change the outcome of his demise (Hyde, 1963).

Oedipus`s Determination

Oedipus from the start has a few character flaws in him, and one of the main reasons behind is his ego. However, this does not make him tragically flawed. He just commits mistakes due to his reckless nature, stubbornness, and ignorance. Oedipus tries to find the killer of Laius with complete determination he does so ...