Hamartia is the name of a game that literary critics used to play and high school English teachers still do. It is based on the notion that "tragic heroes" have a "tragic flaw", which is what harmartia means. It goes like this: select a character from a play. Do they die in the play? If yes, carry on, they might be a tragic hero. Then you can do one of two things: First, you can identify some characteristic about the character you don't like and call it a tragic flaw. Don't worry, nobody is perfect so you can find flaws in anyone. Or, you can imagine how the character might have lived if only he had done something different. Then you call whatever he did do a tragic flaw.
OK, let's play the game with Julius Caesar. Let's look at Brutus--yes, he dies, so he could be the tragic hero--so what could he have done differently to avoid dying? I know! he could have been cynical and ruthless like Cassius. So we can say his tragic flaw is that he is a poor judge of character and trusts too easily.
Oh, but hold on. Cassius dies, so he could be the tragic hero. Well, what don't we like about him? Aha, he's cynical and ruthless. So that's his tragic flaw. What about Julius Caesar? He dies too. Oh, but he's so arrogant and proud. There you go, a tragic flaw. (Arrogance and pride are favourite possibilities for the hamartia game. They are sometimes called hubris. In ancient Greece, hubris meant setting your will against the gods' but since that doesn't happen too often in literature these days, and the name is cool, hubris has been basically redefined as cockiness, or "tragic pride". Since a lot of the characters in tragedies are leaders, they are guaranteed to have this characteristic.) Does anyone else die in Julius Caesar? What about Cinna the poet? Well, he dies because . . . uh . . .oh, well, he's not really a tragic hero anyway. (Whew! got out of that one!)
Basically, hamartia is a totally useless concept for understanding Shakespearean tragedy, because it is imposed upon the work by teachers and was not used by the dramatist to build his dramatic structure. It's only a game, and as a timewaster, you can probably find more entertaining games on your cellphone.
A tragic flaw
Definition of hamartia is: tragic flaw.
Hamartia
Human emotions were considered in classical period due to humors in the human blood which had to be purged. The Greeks also believed in purging the human emotions in catharsis as in a tragedy, to move through hamartia to precipitate or in purging the emotions.
The genre definition word for action is drama. Drama is a specific type of fiction that is conveyed via performance. The symbolic masks associated with drama are comedy and tragedy. They represent Thalia, the muse of comedy and Melpomene, the muse of tragedy.
It is impossible to answer you question in a line or two. Aristotle wrote a whole book (his Poetics) as he tried to define tragedy. See if you can find a condensed version - you could try looking on t he Internet for 'Aristotle's definition of tragedy' or 'Aristotle's Poetics'. Good luck!
comedy is comedy tragedy is tragedy
Hamartia is a tragic flaw or error in judgment that leads a character to their downfall in a tragedy. It is a key element in tragic storytelling as it underscores the fatal flaw or mistake that ultimately brings about the protagonist's downfall.
hamartia is the tragic flaw of the protagonist in a given tragedy
Hamartia
Hamartia, suffering, catharsis
The tragic flaws of a hero in a tragedy.
In Greek tragedy, hamartia refers to the protagonist's biggest flaw. It is the one sin or error that is in the main character or hero's personality that leads to their own downfall.
Catharsis is an emotional purging; in other words, a release of pent-up negative emotions. This term often relates to tragedy, but I am not sure if you are referring to the tragedies we suffer in our lives, or tragedy as a literary genre.
Hamartia
D. A characters flaw that leads to suffering
Hamartia, or tragic flaw.
Hamartia is a flaw or error in the main character that plays a part in bringing about suffering.
Aristotle.