00009—Hamartia, Hubris and Catharsis—Aristotle

Hamartia, Hubris and Catharsis—Aristotle

Aristotle lays down the general rule that characters in a tragedy should be good but not extremely good.  The hero of a tragedy is a human being of average stature.  He must not be a perfect character but he must have inherent nobility in him.  He is never mean or deliberately villainous.  His fall must be the consequences of a basic flaw(weakness) in character which Aristotle calls ‘Hamartia’. 

The ideal tragic hero is a man who stands between the two extremes.  He is not eminently good or just, though he is inclined to the side of goodness.  He brings, misfortune abut  himself as a result of his own actions for which he alone is responsible.  One common form of Hamartia in Greek tragedies was ‘Hubris’, that is pride or over-weaning self confidence which leads a protagonist to  disregard a divine warning or to violate an important moral law.  The misfortunes are always out of proportion to his faults.  The deserved punishment for an evil deed has no pathos in it.  The undeserved suffering of a virtuous person is revolting.  The sufferings of a person which are out of proportion for committing an error of judgement arouses pity and fear in the audience.  Those who witness the tragedy will guard themselves against such error in real life. 

According to Aristotle a tragedy should contain “incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions.”  Catharsis in Greek signifies “purgation”.  Many tragic representations of suffering and defeat leave an audience feeling not depressed but relieved or even exalted.    

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