Have you studied any tragedies during your B.A. program? Who was/were the tragic protagonist(s) in those tragedies? What was their 'hamartia'?
Bridge course : Aristotle's poetics
Hello, I am Krupali Belam and I'm going to write About William Shakespeare's famous play ‘King Lear’ And its 'Hamartia' which I studied during my B.A , so let's begin…
King Lear is a political play by William Shakespeare, written in 1605 to1606 and it is loosely based on the mythological king of Britain. But Lear's foolishness and his ego sent the flow of the play to tragedy.
In Shakespeare's King Lear, the concept of hamartia, or tragic flaw, plays an important role in the development of the story and the downfall of the usurper. King Lear's hamartia is his deep pride and is manifested in his decision to divide his kingdom based on satisfaction rather than intrinsic value.
Aristotle and Plato give a definition of tragedy and its features like plot , Catharsis, Hamartia , characters and others.
- To miss the mark
- To fall in some objects and make a mistake
- To offend morally to do wrong
Lear was the father of his three daughters, whenever times came to give his kingdom to his daughter, at that time Lear created a situation and made a condition that which daughter loved him a lot. It shows that he was a ‘self love person‘ and shows his foolishness. Meanwhile Cordelia fails to impress him and that's why he gave his kingdom to Regan and Gonerill , he discriminates between his daughter. He is very selfish and shown as a roughless dictator in the story.
Meanwhile in the story his two daughters are not accepted by him and shows their reality of nature to him, at that time Lear feels regret, and because of his foolish decisions at the end he was killed.
Hamartia in kinglear :
- Arrogance and pride:
Lear's excessive pride and arrogance lead him to believe that he can control and manipulate his daughters' loyalty through displays of romantic love, rather than understanding his daughters' true character.
- Misjudgment and Naivety:
Lear errs in judgment when he mistakenly hopes to please Goneril and Regan while rejecting the loyal and loving Cordelia. His failure to see through his daughters' deception leads to his downfall.
- Impulsiveness:
Lear quickly divides his kingdom according to his daughters' pleasures, and this pleasure is taken without thought or consideration. This lack of haste only increases the chaos and betrayal that follows.
- Inability to Prove Himself:
For much of the play, Lear struggles to recognize and admit his mistakes. His ignorance prevents him from correcting his mistakes until it is too late, which compounds the tragedy.
- Leadership and Control:
Lear's desire to give up responsibility and authority while maintaining control over his daughters' lives demonstrates a misunderstanding of the nature of authority and family loyalty, leading to conflict and chaos.
Thank you for reading…
Reference:
- Wikipedia
https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/document/57073/1/ssoar-ilshs-2016 74mirmasoomiHamartia_and_catharsis_in_Shakespeares.pdf
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