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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

Aristotle's Poetics

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It is amazing how sophisticated Aristotle's analysis of literature, theatre,
poetry is and what far reaching influence it has, down to the present day.

http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/a...cs_examples.htm

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Tragic Flaw
A perfect tragedy should imitate complex actions (see #12) that excite
pity and fear (#4) while leading a man who is extraordinarily good and
just to misfortune by some error of judgment or frailty of character. That
"frailty of character" is the famous "tragic flaw" or hamartia , actually
something closer to a "tragic imbalance"

The ancient Greek word, "hamartia", which Aristotle uses for a hero's
tragic flaw becomes the sole word used in the Christian New Testament
for sin.

Yet, the primordial meaning of "hamartia" comes from the notion of an
archer who shoots his arrow but misses the mark; hence, a falling short,
or a shortcoming.

http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/test-...5-12/11891.html

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wrong Path
the meaning of the word
Regarding the notion of "sin" in the Bible. In Hebrew, KHATAUAU, in Greek
hAMARTIA. The Greek term has the sense of a missing of the goal, or a
straying away from the right path.

the Hebrew "cHata" carries a meaning more closely related to "taking the
wrong path." I think this is considerably different than the Greek
"hamartia" - "missing the mark."

"Hamartia" brings to mind the image of an archery target "bullseye." The
mark is the exact center of the target. To hit an outer ring is
"hamartanein," to miss the mark. Applied to the category of sin, anything
less than absolute perfection in performance would be "missing the mark."

The Hebrew word "cHata", on the other hand, is related much more
closely to a lifestyle perspective. "Walking the wrong path" is less
concerned about individual actions than overall ways of living. I
understand that the OT is also
concerned with actions of the individual, but the emphasis seems to be
centered around how a person lives life, not on the specific things that he
or she does. "cHata" reflects this. We see this emphasis also in the
Hebrew word for repentance, "shub." "Shub" means "to turn around,"
which is what one does when correcting for walking the wrong path. The
New Testament word, "metanoein" (to repent) also carries the connotation
of change, lit. "changing one's mind," but Hebrew is a more visual
language.

In college, St. John's in Annapolis, I was impressed with the notion that
the word "Satan" comes from a word which means "to turn away" or "be
misled".

We once had a visiting lecturer from another school spend the entire
Friday evening lecturing about "The Apotreptic Moment". "Apotrepsis" is
another word that means "turning about".

Socrates would use refutation to back someone into the motionless
cul-de-sac of "aporia" or no way out, and sometimes, they would suddenly
"turn about" in an apotreptic moment.

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