Aristotle And The So-Called Tragic Flaw (opens in new tab)

<p>Jonathan Bate | Jonathan Bate’s Literary Remains | 10th February 2026 | U</p><h3 dir="auto" class="subtitle subtitle-HEEcLo">The History of a Misreading</h3><div dir="auto" class="body markup"><p><span>One of the most consequential misunderstandings in the history of literary criticism turns on a single Greek word. In Aristotle’s </span><em>Poetics</em><span>, that word is </span><em>hamartia</em><span>. It is usually rendered, in classrooms and handbooks, as “tragic flaw,” and on that tra...