Hamartia...Accidental wrongdoing, or just plain ignorance?

     The term hamartia is best known as "missing the mark", but it's meaning goes so much further than that. In movies and novels the author does a great job at making it clear when the main character has gone a bit too far. We are sitting in our chairs shaking our heads at the obvious mistake the character has made, or we are biting our nails because we know what tragic end that a certain moment is going to lead our character on a downward spiral. The important thing about hamartia is that it is not just one precise moment within the story. Often times there are several small acts of "missing the mark" that eventually leads to a big missing of the mark and causes the character to head towards the inevitable downfall.
   
     Hamartia can be both subtle, or not so subtle to it's audience members. Shakespeare is known for his incredible tragedies and stories that force his audiences to consider jumping out of their seats to grab the character by the head and physically shake some sense into them. This is so in the case of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as Julius Caesar. I'd like to focus in on the story of Julius Caesar and highlight just a few of the obvious acts of hamartia performed by the plays tragic hero, Brutus.

     Brutus, from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, is an important character who most definitely performs acts of hamartia. Throughout the history of literature, with power comes envy, jealousy, and mad schemes to shift the power from one person to another. This is exactly so in the case of Brutus. From the beginning of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare demonstrates Brutus's desire for the power that is supposedly meant for Julius. Brutus completes many covetous acts in which the audience can undermine as "missing the mark."

     Brutus seems infantile when he allows little things to persuade him towards inhumane acts. For example, when Brutus found letters in his room he lets this convince him that he needs to dispose of Caesar as the ruler of Rome. What makes the readers shake their heads at this point is that it is so blatantly obvious that these letters have been planted in his room. Brutus allows himself to get easily caught up in the conspiracy against Caesar and gives up the the idea that perhaps Caesar could be a good leader of Rome.

Another time that Brutus performs an act of hamartia is when he decides to speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus claims to have loved Caesar, but can one who is willing to kill a friend, possibly love that friend? Brutus pushes too far when he declares he loved Caesar. Brutus continues to make a fool of himself when he declares that his love for Rome is greater than anything else. This is the point in the story when the audience realizes there is no hope for Brutus. I don't know about you, but I would not want to live under the power of someone who is willing to kill someone he "loved" just to gain power.... This seems like some obvious hamartia in my eyes.