Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 05, 2013 | #1
Terms You Need for Writing about the Novel
Although the novel is, well, a relatively novel literary form, many of the terms that animate its study are much older. To paint a rough portrait of the novel's ancestry, one might take drama, combine it with folklore, and add a healthy smattering of myth (including religious texts). Since drama and myth are the oldest and most serious of these forms, with drama providing the most vibrant form of mythical retelling and adaptation, it is no surprise that the earliest literary criticism and theory comes from the ancient Greeks, from whom we have inherited a substantial and influential literary tradition. The most notable of the Greeks writing on the tenets of literature, specifically drama, was none other than Aristotle, and his Poetics continues to be the bedrock upon which contemporary theory rests.
As a result of this, many strange-looking Greek terms have found a permanent home in novel studies, and the three listed above, hamartia, hubris, and nemesis, are among the most popular of these. Many have found a limited home in popular culture, and some have been co-opted by news agencies as synonyms for various common English words. If you hear hamartia on CNN, it means great flaw, and is often synonymous with hubris, which means arrogance. In this television context, nemesis refers to someone's great enemy, and while all of these definitions contribute to what each of these terms means in literary studies, they also limit them so severely that much of their power is lost.
Hamartia will usually be defined by your English teacher as tragic flaw, and this is an important aspect of the term. Hamartia is often described as the quality possessed by a character which results in her undoing, the essential character flaw which results in a tragic outcome. However, some scholars argue that this is a slight mistranslation of the term, and that what Aristotle really intended by the term was an action, any action, taken by the character which results in a tragic conclusion. The difference between these alternative interpretations seems subtle and unimportant, but it can make a great difference in identifying the term. After all, there is a significant difference in your evaluation of me if I mess things up because I have made a single mistake, as opposed to messing things up because I have an indelible character trait which has caused me to act the way I did. When using the term, make sure to first understand how your professor or teacher is using it. You can then choose to use it the same way, or really impress them by explaining how using it each way reveals something different about the protagonist of the story.
Hubris is most often defined as overweening pride, and this definition will usually suffice, although it does contain additional aspects, and can be significantly broadened. Again, some scholars have pointed out that hubris isn't precisely pride itself, but rather a character's own belief in his invincibility; this indicates that he believes he is not subject to the mercies of the gods and the fates as other human beings are, which constitutes an offence against the heavens. So, it is this failure to respect the rules of the gods that constitutes the hubris, not merely one's puffed-up self opinion. As a result of this failure and accompanying arrogance, the gods traditionally mete out punishments, and this has been characterized by a deity, Nemesis, who would levy the penalties imposed. She is a goddess of just desserts, and her name came to represent such righteous punishment in general. Currently, the word nemesis is also used to describe a person or thing which is the arch-enemy of another, the one whom they strive against constantly, and who often gains the upper hand. This is the most common use in popular culture, and the one you are most likely to encounter on the news or in a film. The more expansive aspects of the definition discussed above are mainly confined to literary criticism, and will likely only find a welcome home in such circles.
Hamartia, Hubris, Nemesis
Although the novel is, well, a relatively novel literary form, many of the terms that animate its study are much older. To paint a rough portrait of the novel's ancestry, one might take drama, combine it with folklore, and add a healthy smattering of myth (including religious texts). Since drama and myth are the oldest and most serious of these forms, with drama providing the most vibrant form of mythical retelling and adaptation, it is no surprise that the earliest literary criticism and theory comes from the ancient Greeks, from whom we have inherited a substantial and influential literary tradition. The most notable of the Greeks writing on the tenets of literature, specifically drama, was none other than Aristotle, and his Poetics continues to be the bedrock upon which contemporary theory rests.
As a result of this, many strange-looking Greek terms have found a permanent home in novel studies, and the three listed above, hamartia, hubris, and nemesis, are among the most popular of these. Many have found a limited home in popular culture, and some have been co-opted by news agencies as synonyms for various common English words. If you hear hamartia on CNN, it means great flaw, and is often synonymous with hubris, which means arrogance. In this television context, nemesis refers to someone's great enemy, and while all of these definitions contribute to what each of these terms means in literary studies, they also limit them so severely that much of their power is lost.Hamartia will usually be defined by your English teacher as tragic flaw, and this is an important aspect of the term. Hamartia is often described as the quality possessed by a character which results in her undoing, the essential character flaw which results in a tragic outcome. However, some scholars argue that this is a slight mistranslation of the term, and that what Aristotle really intended by the term was an action, any action, taken by the character which results in a tragic conclusion. The difference between these alternative interpretations seems subtle and unimportant, but it can make a great difference in identifying the term. After all, there is a significant difference in your evaluation of me if I mess things up because I have made a single mistake, as opposed to messing things up because I have an indelible character trait which has caused me to act the way I did. When using the term, make sure to first understand how your professor or teacher is using it. You can then choose to use it the same way, or really impress them by explaining how using it each way reveals something different about the protagonist of the story.
Hubris is most often defined as overweening pride, and this definition will usually suffice, although it does contain additional aspects, and can be significantly broadened. Again, some scholars have pointed out that hubris isn't precisely pride itself, but rather a character's own belief in his invincibility; this indicates that he believes he is not subject to the mercies of the gods and the fates as other human beings are, which constitutes an offence against the heavens. So, it is this failure to respect the rules of the gods that constitutes the hubris, not merely one's puffed-up self opinion. As a result of this failure and accompanying arrogance, the gods traditionally mete out punishments, and this has been characterized by a deity, Nemesis, who would levy the penalties imposed. She is a goddess of just desserts, and her name came to represent such righteous punishment in general. Currently, the word nemesis is also used to describe a person or thing which is the arch-enemy of another, the one whom they strive against constantly, and who often gains the upper hand. This is the most common use in popular culture, and the one you are most likely to encounter on the news or in a film. The more expansive aspects of the definition discussed above are mainly confined to literary criticism, and will likely only find a welcome home in such circles.