Hamartia

There are many components of a tragedy. For this assignment, we were asked to examine and define one of the terms (Hamartia) and find examples of this in the play Macbeth.

Hamartia

Definition
Hamartia is essentially the "heart of the tragedy" (Kurzawski).It is "the error, frailty, mistaken judgment, or misstep through which the fortunes of the hero of a tragedy are reversed" (Kurzawski). In essence, it triggers the start of all the bad things that happen to the hero in the story as time goes on. However, this does not have to be only the ‘tragic flaw’ of the character. In some cases, this factor could also be the strength of the hero. This trigger can be caused by many things, including "an unwitting, even necessary, misstep", "bad judgement", "bad character", "ignorance", “inherited weakness" or misfortune (Kurzawski).

Origins
The word Hamartia (Üìáñôßá) comes from the Greek word ‘hamartanein’, which literally translates as "to miss the mark" (in reference to archery). The Greek philosopher Aristotle first introduced the term in his work Poetics, referring to it as (in tragedies) one of the three injuries man can commit to another man.

Examples from the play
Different people may have different opinions of what event/thing is the hamartia of this play. Different ideas include:

• Macbeth’s decision of killing Duncan Because of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth decides to murder Duncan; however, we think that if Macbeth had never consented to Lady Macbeth’s ambitious needs, that tragedy wouldn’t unfold upon him in the length of the story.
• Macbeth and Banquo trust for the three witches, after the soldiers came to announce his Thaneship and Macbeth’s his ease at believing what the witches have predicted, because he would very much want for himself to be king.
  Macbeth should have been more careful, because the audience is not sure if the three witches just overheard that Macbeth was to be Thane, and predicted his being king all by themselves. It is because of this trust that Macbeth does what he does later on in the play
  

Sources
Kurzawski, Kristen. "An Examination of Tragedy Through William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth". 1 Feb. 2007.<http://www.chatham.edu/PTI/2006%20Units/Shakespeare/KurzawskiUnit.pdf>

"Hamartia". The UVic Writer's Guide. 23 September 2007. University of Victoria. 1 Feb. 2007.
<http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTHamartia.html>

"Hamartia". Dictionnaire International des Termes Littéraires. 1 Feb. 2007. Vita Nova.
<http://www.ditl.info/arttest/art1747.php>

Jacobean Theatre

Jacobean Theatre

Macbeth was written in the very beginning of the Jacobean Period. Our group did some research on the Jacobean era as it pertains to theatre, and came up with some very interesting connections to Macbeth.

- The “Jacobean” refers to James I’s reign as King of England (1603-1625)
- It followed the Elizabethan era, which occurred when Elizabeth I was Queen (1558-1603)
-The two eras, along with Carolinian theatre (from the reign of Charles I) are often all (incorrectly) referred to as being Elizabethan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_theatre

- A common theme in plays of this time (in both Jacobean theatre and the earlier Elizabethan theatre) was the “revenge tragedy” genre. Common characteristics of this genre included a hero on evil quest, death, mutilation, insanity, sub-plays (play within a play), and finally, the violent death of the hero. (Mabillard)
http://www.shakespeare-online.com

- Wikipedia offers other common characteristics of the Jacobean play, many of which related directly to events in Macbeth. These include,
~ a secret murder (of a ruler)
~ a visit from a ghost
~ plotting, a disguise and a period of violence
~ a catastrophic ending
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revenge_play&oldid=100359851

- King James I was very interested in demons and the supernatural. He even wrote a book entitled Demonologie that dealt with the study of supernatural beings, witches and demons. Macbeth, like many other plays of the Jacobean era, shows clear “attempts at didacticism and at pleasing the king” in its many endeavours into the realm of the unknown or the supernatural. The most obvious of this is, of course, the reoccurring presence of the Weird Sisters, witches who seem to be able to predict the future and control certain events.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4455434

- The Jacobean play contained a “more intense dramatic style” than the traditional Elizabethan play. The period of time in which this theatrical style developed also saw the advent of completely enclosed theatres, meaning that plays could (and often needed to be) candlelit at every performance. This created a consistently available, eerie atmosphere that encouraged the “underlying feel of dread” in many Jacobean plays. The themes of murder, betrayal, violence and (again) the supernatural that run through Macbeth were created and encouraged by this atmosphere.
http://www.jadisshadows.co.uk/jacobean.htm

Sources
“About Jacobean Theatre” Jadis-Shadows. Jadis Theatre Jacobean Theatre Company. 25
Jan. 2007 http://www.jadis-shadows.co.uk/jacobean.htm

“Edited Guide Entry.” bbc.co.uk. 6 Oct. 2005. BBC. 25 Jan. 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4455434

"English Renaissance theatre." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Jan 2007.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Feb 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_Renaissance_theatre&oldid=104132941.

Mabillard, Amanda. "FAQ". 2000. Shakespeare Online. 31 January 2007. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/generalfaq.html

"Revenge play." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 13 Jan 2007. Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc. 31 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Revenge_play&oldid=100359851>.