Hamartia and Catharsis in Shakespearean Trgedies

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NAME : DHARMA J. GOHEL

MA : SEM – 1

ROLL NO : 09

ENROLLMENT NO : 2069108420180014

BATCH : 2017-2019

EMAIL ID :                  

SUBMITTED : SmT. S.B.GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, MKBU.

PAPER-3 : Literory theory and criticism

TOPIC : hamartia and catharsis  in Shakespearean tragedies

Mentor :  Prof.dr. dilip  barad  sir

Q. What is Hamartia? Explain with the help of Shakespearean tragedies.

A : 

"Hamartia is knows as tragic flaw."

This word comes from the Greek wordhamartanein which means “to err”. The hero of the drama is superior in all respects except in one fatal defect in character. That shortcoming in the hero causes his downfall, or his tragedy. Aristotle talks about Hamartia in his workPoetics. Aristotle holds the hero from a noble family with a mature demeanor whose downfall is brought about by some ‘error of judgment’. This error or flaw of judgment is called as hamartia. In a play this comes into effect when the tragic hero tries to accomplish something but ends up doing exactly the opposite thing because of the error of judgment.

➤We can understand it in better way with the examples of Shakespeaarean tragedies:

1.Macbeth of William Shakespeare :

Ambition is ‘tragic flaw’ or hamartiain the character of Macbeth. Macbeth takes ambition as something virtuous and consequently he suffers from it. In the play, he gets ambitious by the words of the witches who predict that he will become the King of Scotland. He becomes the King. His ambition further leads him to kill innocent people and consequently he also get killed by Mac Duff.

2. Othello of William Shakespeare :

Jealousy is the hamartia or fatal ‘tragic flaw’ in the character of Othello by Shakespeare. Iago constantly venomous words into the ears of Othello. Othello gets jealousy towards his beautiful wife Desdemona and his jealousy he kills her. When Othello realizes the innocence of Desdemona, and the depth of his crime, he commits suicide.

3. Hamlet of William Shakespeare :

Procrastination is the hamartia or the tragic flaw of Hamlet. He is unable to act on impulse or take a sudden decision. He always postpones his revenge. On the contrary, he quickly makes decisions that require a lot of contemplation. His lack of impulsiveness or delay in action is his tragic flaw.

4. King Lear of William Shakespeare :

The tragic flaw or hamartia of King Lear is ‘pride’ or ‘egotism’. He is not able to properly evaluate the love of his daughters. Further he let himself blinded by the sycophancy of his daughters.

➤Function of Hamartia in Literature :

Hamartia imparts the sense of pity and fear in the audience of the readers. The audience or the readers identify with the tragic hero as, like them, his character is a mixture of good and bad qualities. They feel pity for the reversal of fortune that he undergoes. This arouses a feeling of pity in them. Similarly, by witnessing a tragic hero suffer due to his own flaw, the audience or the readers may fear the same fate may befall them if they indulge in similar kinds of action.

➤ Conclusion:

     Therefore, hamartia may be employed for a moral purpose to encourage people to improve their characters by removing the flaws that can cause a tragedy in their lives.

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Q. What is Catharsis ? explain it with the example of Shakespearean tragedies.

A. 

➥ "A Catharsis is an emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress."

Catharsis is a Greek word and it means cleansing.  In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the characters. It can also be any other radical change that leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person.

Originally, the term was used as a metaphor in Poetics by Aristotle to explain the impact of tragedy on the audiences. He believed that catharsis was the ultimate end of a tragic artistic work and it marked its quality. He further said in Poetics:

➤Examples of Catharsis :

1.‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare :

William Shakespeare wrote two of the famous examples of catharsis. One of these catharsis examples is his tragic drama “Macbeth”. This play presents a great example of catharsis. The audience and readers of Macbeth usually pity the tragic central figure of the play because he was blinded by his destructive preoccupation with ambition.
In Act 1 he is made the thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, which makes him a prodigy, well-regarded for his valor and talent. However, the era of his doom starts when he, like most people, gets carried away by ambition and the supernatural world as well. Subsequently, he loses his wife, his veracity and eventually his life. The temptation of ambition robs him of the essence of his existence as a human being and leaves behind nothing but discontent and a worthless life. In Act V, Macbeth (5.5.24-28) gathers this idea in his soliloquy. He says while speaking of his life:

“…a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more.  It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing”

                                                                

2. ‘Romeo and Juliet’by William Shakespeare :

“Here’s to my love! [Drinks] O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Falls]”

In “Romeo and Juliet”, Romeo commits suicide by drinking the poison that he erroneously thinks Juliet had tasted too. The audience usually finds themselves crying at this particular moment for several reasons. Primarily because losing a loved one is a feeling that all of us share. Watching or reading such a scene triggers the memories of someone we have lost (either by death or by mere separation) and because we are able to relate to it, we suddenly release the emotions that we have been repressing.

3.Catharsis in Hamlet:

The tragic flaw in Hamlet is procrastination i.e. the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more important ones. The greatest problem in Hamlet is the problem of Hamlet’s delay in avenging the murder of his father. Hamlet demonstrates his ability to react instead of act, throughout the play. I believe that there are at least two points where a reader can reach a catharsis or emotional completion during the play. One cathartic moment is when Polonius died by the hand of Hamlet. Second, at the very end of the play, all the major players die due to hamartia- both inner flaws and outer mistakes. The end of the play is only made sweet when Hamlet finally commits a clean sweep in his terms. He outlives all that “is rotten in the state of Denmark”.(Act iv ;Scene iv; Line2) The reader is satisfied that Hamlet died with his integrity intake after having rooted out grievous injustice.

4. Othello and Doubt :

A Common Catharsis Having read Othello the ereader came out with the conclusion that Othello wanted to believe that his wife was untrue to him and even looked for evidences to prove this. It seemed to me that Othello too easily believed Iago’s accusations against his wife. For someone like Othello, who loved his wife so much, revered and adored her, how could he, within the course of one conversation be completely convinced of her bedroom betrayal? Iago indeed manipulated Othello but the one who planted the seed of suspicion and jealousy in Othello’s mind was Brabantio. Before Othello was leaving for war, Brabantio warned him, “look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: she has deceived her father, andmay thee”.  Othello seemed unable to believe that the lovely and pure Desdemona could ever love him and looked for any reason to distrust her. Iago may have been a villain but his actions only succeeded because of Othello’s already pervasive doubt. The scene of Desdemona’s humiliation is far more painful than even the scene of her murder. Desdemona’s love for Othello was absolute, so the death of Othello at the end, gives a justified end to the tragedy, leaving the readers with catharsis.
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*Function of Catharsis: Dramatic uses :

·         In dramatic art the term catharsis explains the impact of tragedy, comedy or any other form of art on the audience and in some cases even on the performers themselves. Aristotle did not elaborate on the meaning of “catharsis” and the way he used it in defining tragedy in the Poetics (1449b21-28).

·         According to G.F. Else, the conventional and the most prevalent explanation of catharsis as “purgation” or “cleansing” does not have a basis in the Poetics. It has rather stemmed from other non-Aristotelian and Aristotelian contexts. Such confusion regarding the origin of the term has led to assorted interpretations of its meaning.

·         An authoritative version of the Poetics by D.W. Lucas thoroughly covered, in an Appendix dedicated to “Pity, Fear, and Katharsis”, the different shades of meaning and aspects inherent in the interpretation of the word (Aristotle: Poetics, Oxford, 1968, pp. 276–79). Lucas identifies that there is a chance that catharsis may have some aspect of meanings like “purgation”, “intellectual clarification” and “purification”.

·         However, the kind of discussion he conducts on these terms is not as precise as other leading scholars would want it to be. He does not consider any interpretations other than his own and rather takes a different approach. His approach is centered on “the Greek doctrine of Humours”, which was not received too well.

·         The most common interpretations of the term are purgation and purification, and are still widely used. The most recent interpretation of the term catharsis is “intellectual clarification”..

➤Conclusion : 

These were the functions and examples of Catharsis ans Hamartia with reference to Shakespearean tragedies.

Works Cited

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://literarydevices.net/hamartia/

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://literarydevices.net/catharsis/

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ijelr.in/2.1.15/FARIHA%20KHAN%20128-130.pdf